A Demon's Inner Angel
by Pcano94
Summary: A strange man named Draxnor joins Fairy Tail and is inducted into Team Natsu by Erza. However, strange things happen around the team as Draxnor's true intentions are slowly revealed. Impossible murders occur across Magnolia, with no evidence or suspects. Demons run rampant across Fiore. Soon, Natsu and Co. find themselves caught fighting a war they might not survive. NaZaMi
1. Fairy Tail

_**Hello, everyone!**_

_**This is my third fanfic overall and my first Fairy Tail fanfic. I'm very excited with this fic because I have a lot of plans for it in the future in regards to plot. While the memorable arcs of the actual series will be present (with my own twists), there will be a good number of original arcs. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it!**_

_**So please, as always, read and review! I really want to know what y'all think and leave me tips on how I can improve my writing. I am here for that, after all. **_

_**Enjoy! **_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, its rights or any of its characters, spells, locations, etc. These belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima. I only own my OCs, my spells, etc. Any resemblance to anything or anyone, either living or dead, is purely coincidental. Also, this work is purely meant for non-profit entertainment.**

Hello " "= **Dialogue**

**Requip " "= Spells and Magical Item Names **

_What? ' ' = _**Thoughts**

* * *

**_A Demon's Inner Angel_**

**Chapter 1: Fairy Tail**

It was a stormy afternoon in the town of Magnolia. Incredibly large cumulonimbus clouds hung over the peaceful town like a bad omen, as if the gods were unleashing their wrath upon them. Streets were mostly empty and some businesses were closed due to the obvious lack of clientele. Even so, there were still a few businesses open for if there was a miracle customer or weary traveler rushing to escape the torrential rains that haunted the town for three days and seemed to never end. The bell of the church in the middle of town rang solemnly through the afternoon only to be drowned out by the thundering of the sky. Right now, Magnolia was nothing but a ghost town.

However, there was a lone man, about six feet and four inches tall, standing in front of a large, pagoda-like cream colored three story building, with a square set of double doors that had a large golden sign reading "Fairy Tail" in blue letters and two fairy-like figures with tails pointing in opposite directions on top. The man was dressed very well, with a red long sleeve button up shirt left unbuttoned at the top, revealing a very muscular chest, tucked in black dress slacks and black dress shoes, and a long black leather trench coat with elaborate blood-red patterns near the ends draped over his wide shoulders as if it were a cape. He had a strong-looking visage with a very elaborately shaped scar to the right side of it that surrounded most of his eye and trailed down to mid-cheek and short, spiky black hair that held strong through the rain. A solemn expression ruled his handsome features and he had his eyes closed.

With every lightning flash, it seemed that the solitary man was getting closer and closer to the semi-elegant doors of the guild hall. But the closer he got, the farther he seemed from opening them. Light was visible through the windows of the first floor, signaling activity inside the wooden building. He opened his eyes as rain pelted every inch of the man's body, drenching him in cold water, but he didn't seem to mind. It was as if he was entranced with the guild hall's doors, taking in every minute detail there was in the rainy darkness. No matter how much the rain hit the man, he did not make a move to get away from it. He stood there, motionless, listening to the sounds of increasing activity in the building. Then, suddenly, the man lifted his hands, pushed the double doors open, and walked inside.

Instantly, all activity inside the guild trailed off slowly as surprised faces turned towards the doors to see who had entered their building. The room was a large wooden lunch hall with parquet floors and a mezzanine overlooking it. Long benches were perched across the length of the hall with a bar at the end of it, where a beautiful white-haired girl with deep blue eyes was staring at the soaked man blankly. Water dripping off the bottom of his attire, the man slowly made his way towards the bar, ignoring the whispering that surrounded him.

"Do you feel that?"

"Yeah… He's powerful…"

"Waay too powerful…"

"Dude gives me the creeps…"

"He looks like a REAL MAN!"

"Shut up, Elfman…"

"He's hot…"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Ignoring the whispers and stares directed at him, the man was still walking towards the bar, and it seemed that he was taking his sweet time getting there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a beautiful, fair-skinned young woman with waist-length brown hair, brown eyes, large breasts covered only by a blue bikini top, a slim, curvaceous hour-glass figure and tight black pants that accentuated her wide hips. She was sitting cross-legged on top of a table looking at him while she was drinking out of a rather large barrel of what seemed to be alcohol. He failed to notice the mark of the guild that was on the left side of her stomach. Apart from that, no one else seemed to capture the attention or receive a fleeting glance from the man, not even a scarlet haired young woman wearing an interesting combination of a suit of armor, elbow-length gauntlets, a navy blue skirt and long black boots that was sitting on a stool in the bar, glaring at the man suspiciously. He could hear breaths hitch as the people throughout the hall noticed the woman's fierce stare towards this new intruder who interrupted their version of peace. Apparently, everyone in the guild feared this woman.

Still expressionless, the man looked towards the young woman and returned her harsh stare, completely unfazed by hers. Gasps could be heard throughout the guild hall… apparently nobody dared to do this to her, for fear of getting beaten to near-death. His head quickly snapped towards the white-haired girl who motioned towards him from behind the bar. She jumped slightly at his sudden reaction.

"Can I help you?" she asked, politely… cheerfully.

"I want to see your master…" replied the man in a deep, commanding voice that seemingly made some people behind him shudder.

"For what purpose do you seek him?" asked the red-haired girl, standing up, still looking at him harshly. Even though she was about a head shorter than the man, it did not seem to hurt her resolve.

"I want to join your guild," the man replied simply, not looking at the red-haired woman and giving the white-haired girl a lingering stare. She was very beautiful, with her white hair extending down to her slim waist, with two bangs hanging all the way down to her bountiful chest. However, her most prominent feature in her hair was a short, upward ponytail that she had right above her forehead. She wore a maroon dress with a pleated skirt that really outlined her voluptuous curves, a large bow on her chest and a small necklace. Noticing the stare, the girl seemed to back away slightly. However, it was not due to intimidation as she reached back and pulled out a bottle of liquor.

"Would you care for a drink?" she offered, her cheerful tone never faltering.

"I would like tequila please," replied the man as he approached the bar. "Please leave the whole bottle."

"Sure!" she chirped as she went back to the shelves and looked for the requested liquor. "Are you looking for something specific?"

"Anything is fine, thank you," replied the man, sitting on the stool next to the scarlet-haired girl. He noticed that the glare she was giving him still had not faltered, prompting him to look at her straight in the eyes.

"What's your name?" she asked curtly.

"Draxnor… Draxnor Hellion," replied the man. "Yours?"

The girl looked at Draxnor intently, seemingly contemplating whether she should give him her name or not. Draxnor, still expressionless, returned the stare. Something about the man irked the girl, but she just couldn't pinpoint what. It was as if this man was surrounded by a veil of mystery. His almost annoying calmness and near-arrogance screamed suspicions and secrets at the girl, and she did not like it one bit. What could the man be hiding behind such a calm, handsome expression?

She barely noticed the large scar that adorned the right side of his face. She couldn't believe that she had missed such a large detail of the man's visage. She cursed at herself mentally for getting lost in the man's deep brown eyes.

"Erza… Erza Scarlet…" she said softly, tentatively. Draxnor raised an eyebrow, interested.

"Scarlet… you got that from the color of your hair, didn't you?" he asked. Erza's eyes widened considerably.

"I guess I'm right," Draxnor continued as the white-haired girl placed the bottle in front of him. "From that fact, I can deduce that you either didn't have a last name or you don't remember it."

Erza only stared at him, grinding her teeth together as her beautiful visage shook slightly in anger.

"Forgive me," Draxnor apologized suddenly, bowing his head slightly and shocking Erza in the process. "I did not mean to anger you."

He grabbed his bottle, left the money on the counter, stood up and began to walk away from her. "I will take my leave, now. But, please, tell your master of my wanting to join your guild."

"No," Erza muttered shakily, making Draxnor stop in his tracks and turn to look at her. Her expression was almost unreadable, a mixture of sadness, anger and pain thrown together into a single container. "It's okay. You can stay… I'll go get him."

"There'll be no need for that," spoke a voice from above them. Draxnor looked up to see a very short, elderly man with an orange shirt with a white one underneath, orange shorts, with orange shoes. He was completely bald, except for the rims of his head, where he had white hair.

"M-Master…" muttered Erza.

'_So he's the master of this guild…' _thought Draxnor calmly, as the elderly master of the Fairy Tail Guild made his way down the wooden stairs to the left of Draxnor.

"Mira, my dear, get me the usual," he voiced as he jumped on a stool in front of Draxnor.

"Of course, Master!" answered the white-haired girl joyously, kneeling down behind the bar and picking out a mug.

"Now, my boy, you said you wanted to join this guild?" he stated more than asked. Draxnor nodded curtly.

"Why?"

"My family died when I was young. I spent most of my life traveling around Fiore without a solid path to follow. Throughout those horribly lonely years, I have made some rather crooked decisions that have landed me in my current situation and I thought that by joining this guild, considered to be the strongest in all of Fiore, I would be able to straighten my path a lot more easily and effectively and find the family I never had," stated Draxnor, closing his eyes and sighing softly after he finished.

"I see. You have suffered a lot in your… how old are you?" asked the master.

"I am 28, Master," replied Draxnor.

"Right. You have suffered a lot in those 28 short years of your life. I can see it in your eyes, but I can also see darkness in them. A deep, dangerous darkness, threatening to swallow you whole," said the master, his eyes scrutinizing Draxnor's, as if attempting to see into his very soul.

"Yes, Master. That is why I wish to join… so I can straighten my path and conquer the darkness within me," replied Draxnor, bowing slightly.

"Well said, my boy… well said," complimented the master, giving him a large smile before taking a large swig of his drink. "That is the essence of Fairy Tail: to gather young men and women who have lost their path and guide them down the right one. Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

Cheering and clapping suddenly erupted from the other guild members as the master shouted out the last sentence. Draxnor, surprised at the sudden change in atmosphere, could only smile slightly.

"Now, let's show our newest member Draxnor what it means to party Fairy Tail style!" yelled the master, raising up his mug while a roar of approval rang throughout the guild hall. Raising his bottle as well, Draxnor then gulped down half of his bottle before making his way to the stool next to the master.

"Master—" began Draxnor.

"Makarov…" replied Master Makarov. Draxnor nodded.

"Are there any other requirements I need to fulfill?" asked Draxnor.

"None at all, my boy. All you need is a big heart and an endless thirst for adventure!" Makarov shouted happily after gulping a large part of his second drink.

"I see… good thing I have both those things," muttered Draxnor, finishing his bottle before setting it down. He turned towards the white-haired girl, who was looking at him.

"Draxnor, let me introduce myself. My name is Mirajane… Mirajane Strauss," said Mirajane, bowing slightly. "You can call me Mira."

"It's nice to meet you, Mira," Draxnor replied politely, extending his right hand, which she tentatively took. He bent down and kissed it softly, causing her to blush.

"Oh, my…" she giggled slightly, removing her hand. "Would you like to meet some of the members of the guild?"

"Sure… I see no problem with that," replied Draxnor, standing up.

"Alright!" she said, making her way around the bar gesturing Draxnor to follow her. They walked towards a table that had the heavy-drinking female mage plus another female wizard and a group of four men.

"That's my younger brother, Elfman Strauss," began Mira, gesturing at a very large, muscular man with spiked up white hair and a scar right underneath his right eye. He was wearing a Japanese style high-collared jacket, blue pants and black shoes.

"How's it hanging? If you want to know what a REAL MAN is, come to me!" shouted Elfman, clenching his fist.

"Ah, that Elfman… always going on about that," giggled Mirajane softly.

"Hey! I'm Macao!" greeted a middle-aged man with slicked back dark blue hair. He was wearing a knee-length white jacket with his sleeves rolled up, a dark blue shirt, brown pants, and brown shoes.

"Hey, hot stuff… I'm Cana," greeted the young alcoholic woman rather seductively, who after her second barrel, didn't even seem to be tipsy at all. "Wanna go on a date with me?"

"Cana! Don't scare him!" reprimanded Mirajane playfully.

"Sure… just give me the date and time you're free," replied Draxnor, shocking everyone, even Mirajane. Cana just stared at him, a smile slowly spreading through her face. The thing that highlighted everything was Draxnor's small, but very handsome smile. Maybe… just maybe… this could be her lucky day after all.

"Wow, I like you already! How about this weekend?" said Cana, winking at Draxnor.

"Fine…" he replied, nodding slowly.

"That's a REAL MAN for you, you unmanly wimps! Draxnor barely joined and he already has a date with Cana!" roared Elfman, throwing his fists up in the air, and everyone in the table cheered.

"Good luck to you, man! You'll need it! I'm Wakaba, by the way," greeted a slender man with brown, pompadour-style hair with the large tuft extending forward. He wore a green long-sleeve shirt with flower patterns, brown pants and brown boots. "So, Mira… about that date…"

"Sorry, Wakaba," Mira replied, giving him a cheerful glare that sent shivers down his spine.

"S-S-Scary…" stuttered Wakaba.

"You too, Mira?" asked Draxnor. "The men here are scared of you too?"

"Well, everyone has a good reason. She ain't called the "She-Devil" for no reason," replied another young man, sparking Draxnor's interest. He had long, unkempt black hair that covered the right side of his face, and he wore a brown coat resembling a poncho with tasseled edges along with a brown shirt, torn light brown pants and simple boots. "Name's Alzack by the way. And this is Bisca."

He gestured towards the girl sitting next to him. She had long, straight green hair with two long bangs framing her face covered by a yellow cowgirl hat. She wore a yellow polka-dot scarf and a blue strapless one piece dress and long reddish boots.

"Nice to meet ya, Draxnor," she greeted, waving her hand at him. Draxnor nodded.

"Nice to meet you, too," he replied.

"Well, now that that's done, let's go meet the others over there!" said Mirajane happily, pointing at a table where a blue-haired petite girl sat with two young men.

"PARTY BRAWL!" roared Elfman, and cries, punches and kicks were being thrown around. Draxnor turned around, slightly surprised at the mob of people that had gathered in a single spot, smashing plates and tables. Bisca, Alzack and Cana moved away from the fighting, while the two young men that were with the petite blue-haired girl joined in on the fight.

Draxnor then surveyed the entire guild, only to find them cheering. Even Master Makarov was cheering, holding his mug high in the air then taking a large gulp. The only one that didn't seem all too pleased by this was Erza.

"It seems that Erza isn't very pleased with this little brawl," commented Draxnor, attracting Mirajane's attention.

"No, she's a little more on the "mature" side. She thinks it childish to take part in these brawls," said Mirajane simply.

"Ha, I see…" Draxnor smirked.

"Watch out!" called Mira suddenly, prompting him to turn around, only to see Elfman's flying body shooting towards him. Draxnor opened his arms and caught Elfman.

"You alright there, Elfman?" asked Draxnor.

"I'm fine, thanks," groaned Elfman, standing up swiftly. "You should join. The fights get pretty fun."

"I think I'll pass this time," said Draxnor, waving his hand dismissively.

"Nope! Not letting you! A REAL MAN would not pass on this!" shouted Elfman, launching his right fist at Draxnor as he began to laugh.

"Elfman!" cried Mira. "He said no!"

Too late… Elfman's punch had landed right on Draxnor's face. The only thing was that he didn't fly back as expected. He stood there, fist on his face, expressionless. Slowly, he lifted his right hand, grabbed Elfman's and yanked it away from his face. Everyone that wasn't in the brawl was surprised that a punch from one of their strongest members didn't affect Draxnor in the slightest. Elfman was shocked senseless. How could one of his manly punches not even affect the new recruit?

Smirking slightly, Draxnor fisted his right hand and drew it back.

**"Black Armament,"** he spoke softly. His entire right arm, along with his shirt, became a solid black color, catching everyone's attention and earning some surprised gasps. The brawling mob actually stopped to see what was going on, and Master Makarov stopped gulping on his drink to see as well. Even Erza, who wasn't paying attention at all, turned to see what the commotion was all about. Her eyes widened when she saw Draxnor's pitch black fist.

He lunged forward and landed a powerful blow to Elfman's gut, who bent forward, gasping in pain. He was then sent flying towards the mob and crashed on top of them.

"Got ya," muttered Draxnor, smiling. When he saw Mirajane's worried glance, he added, "No need to worry. He's fine."

Sure enough, Elfman slowly got up from the mass of groaning bodies piled up together over a broken table. A smile adorned his face.

"Whoa! That actually hurt! This guy hits like a REAL MAN!" roared Elfman, earning cheers from everyone. Erza, scowling, made her way to Draxnor.

"You were holding back, weren't you?" she asked sternly. Draxnor raised an eyebrow in interest. Mirajane caught on to what Erza said and approached the conversation.

"Yes, I was…" he replied simply.

"Really?" asked Mirajane, surprised. Draxnor turned towards her and nodded.

"Come with me," ordered Erza. Silently, Draxnor and Mirajane followed her until they stopped in front of a red-faced, hiccupping Master Makarov.

"Master…" began Erza.

"What is it, my dear?" he asked, surprisingly steady considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed already.

"I want to test Draxnor's strength in a match, and I want you to referee it," she explained. Draxnor looked at her, interest flaring up. She wanted to fight him to see how strong he was? He would not disappoint her. He would give her a match she would never forget.

"When? It's still raining heavily as we speak, so the match cannot be held today," said Makarov.

"MASTER! THE RAIN IS GONE!"

"Well, that was quick," Makarov deadpanned. Sighing deeply, he added, "Do you want to hold it right now, then?"

"No, Master… tomorrow morning will be fine," replied Erza.

"Sounds good, my dear. Would you like me to announce this to the guild?" asked Makarov.

"Sure, that's fine," responded Erza.

"Better get ready, Draxnor. Erza is a very tough opponent. You won't have it easy," warned Mirajane.

"And I don't want to have it easy," said Draxnor. "For a reason she is the great Titania Erza. I will not accept anything but her all in battle."

"So you're accepting my challenge, huh? That's a first… Not many wizards show such confidence when either challenging me to a match or accepting a challenge… except _him_…" she said, closing her eyes and smiling softly, her cheeks tainting a soft pink.

"Ah, yes… _him_…" Mirajane added, lifting her hand and leaning her face on it, a more pronounced blush flooding her cheeks. Draxnor, surprised, eyed both ladies. He also noticed the tick marks appearing on Erza's forehead as she glared at Mirajane.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Two of our strongest and most beautiful ladies in love with the same man? What a lucky bastard he is…" Makarov commented, earning glares from both Mirajane and Erza. He began to sweat profusely in nervousness.

Chuckling at the sight, Draxnor said, "Well… if that's all for today, I shall take my leave. I will be back tomorrow morning for this challenge."

"Wait! I forgot!" piped up Mirajane suddenly, rushing back behind the counter of the bar. "I haven't placed our guild stamp on you. What color would you like it to be? And where do you want it?"

"Ah, yes, the guild's mark. How could I forget about that?" Makarov mumbled.

"I want it black with red flaming throughout the mark. Is that possible?" said Draxnor, sitting on the stool.

"Hmm, it might be a little hard, but it's surely not impossible," replied Mirajane cheerfully. After a few minutes of tampering around with the stamp and its colors, she whooped and gestured for Draxnor to come closer.

"Done! Where do you want it?" she asked.

"Here…" he said simply, rolling back his right sleeve up to his elbow and placing his forearm on the counter. Nodding with a small giggle, she stamped the guild's mark.

"There! Now you're an official member of Fairy Tail!" she said joyously.

"Thanks," said Draxnor softly, nodding. He turned and began walking towards the guild's exit. "Now I'll take my leave."

"Master, I'm leaving as well," said Erza, closely following Draxnor. "I'm going to need a good rest for my upcoming match against Draxnor."

"Wait just a moment," called out Makarov, stopping Erza and Draxnor in their tracks. "LISTEN UP, YOU BRATS!"

Every single trace of activity throughout the guild vanished once again, just like when Draxnor walked in through those doors. Everyone was looking at Master Makarov with interest in their eyes. The only times they were all called out collectively were when he either had an important announcement or when he was going to discuss the festivals. So, if they were all called out, they knew it was because of something important.

"I have an announcement to make," began the tiny master. "Now that we have partied somewhat in welcoming of our newest member, Draxnor, I have news that many of you will most likely enjoy. Erza here has challenged Draxnor to an all-out match and I will referee it."

Once he dropped the bomb, everyone in the guild adopted looks of horror and sympathy. It seemed that Draxnor was not going to be a member for much longer. Erza was quite nasty when it came to these challenges. But what surprised them the most was not that. It was the fact that Erza herself challenged Draxnor, not the other way around. What could've gotten Erza, _the great Titania Erza_, so interested in that man? Did she believe him to be strong enough to take her on at full strength? If so, why? Was it because of the way the man carried himself around? Was it because of his overly intimidating appearance? Sure, he did an aura of mystery surrounding him, but was that the only reason she came onto him and challenged him?

"The match will be held tomorrow morning just behind the guild. If any of you want to enjoy a surely unforgettable battle, come by early tomorrow!" continued Makarov, raising his mug. "To an awesome match tomorrow!"

After the initial shock of the announcement wore off, loud cheers rang throughout the guild as the members were excitedly looking forward to this surely incredible fight. Draxnor smiled and returned to the bar.

"Mira, can I please have another bottle of tequila?" he asked, placing more money on the counter.

"Sure! Coming right up!" chirped Mirajane, rushing to the shelves and picking out another bottle of the requested liquor. "Here ya go!"

"Thanks, Mira," said Draxnor, saluting her and winking at the same time, causing her to blush slightly.

"No problem!" she replied cheerfully.

"Goodbye, Master, Mira. I'll be taking my leave now," he said, bowing down slightly.

"Sure, my boy. Get plenty of rest… you'll need it," said the master, smirking lightly.

"I'll be leaving too, Master," voiced Erza.

"Alright, my dear. You take care, as well," replied the master, giving a contented sigh after gulping another mug of alcohol.

"Bye, Draxnor! Bye, Erza!" shouted Mirajane, waving goodbye to them. They both waved goodbye back as they made their way to the exit. Once they were outside and the doors closed, Draxnor felt a hand on his shoulders.

"Draxnor…" began Erza.

"Is there a specific reason as to why you're challenging me?" he interrupted her, rotating to face her entirely. Silence ruled for a couple of moments between the pair as she contemplated her answer.

"Yes… and no…" she finally replied.

"Well, let me hear your reason as to why you challenged me," Draxnor coaxed her.

"I just want to see how strong you are, that's all," she replied, not looking at him. She was obviously hiding something. The only thing was… what.

"I see… well, that doesn't matter. Let's just have a good match. How does that sound?" he said, trying to lift up the suddenly sullen mood. She smiled.

"That's fine with me," she replied.

"Oh, by the way, who was that guy you were talking about that had you and Mira all mushy?" he inquired, earning a small gasp and a blush from Erza. "If you want to tell me of course… you don't have to."

"It's fine… I'll tell you. But you better not tell anyone! Understand?" she warned, glaring down… or up at Draxnor.

"I will not. I swear. It's not my thing to go around spreading rumors or truth even. I'd rather let people find out on their own unless it's of crucial importance," stated Draxnor, waving his hands, trying to calm her down.

"Alright, alright… his name's Natsu… Natsu Dragneel," she stated, looking down and smiling softly. "He's in Fairy Tail with us, but he wasn't here today because he had some stuff to take care of."

"Well, well, my fellow comrade Natsu was born under a lucky star to have two beautiful women such as you and Mira after him," he smirked. Erza blushed and turned away from Draxnor. Laughing softly, he turned around as well and began walking away from Erza.

"Goodnight," he called out, waving his hand. Erza didn't hear him, for she was too lost in her thoughts. It was only until a few moments later that she snapped out of them and turned to bid goodbye to Draxnor, that she noticed that he was gone. It was as if he vanished into thin air.

'_Where'd he go?'_ she wondered. _'Ah well, whatever… I have to get back and get some rest!' _

Alone she trekked through the stone streets of Magnolia town until she made it to her home, the prestigious Fairy Hills.

Walking through the door, the lobby, up the stairs, and into her room, Erza was lost in thought. She requipped into purple pajamas and threw herself onto her bed as many things ran through her mind. But what dominated her thoughts was the battle set for tomorrow. Even though she had barely met Draxnor, she knew that he was strong._ How_ strong… she didn't know. She was going to find out tomorrow. She bit her lip slightly in nervous anticipation. Never in her life had she been this excited for a battle with someone other than Natsu. It felt somewhat refreshing. She was going to fight someone with skills totally unknown to her, with magic she may have never seen before. The only magic he showed off to the guild was the **Black Armament**, but she didn't even know what it did. All she knew was that his arm turned a solid black color. She didn't know what effect it had on the user and what advantages it gave. Hopefully he would use it tomorrow. Maybe then she could figure out what it was all about.

Before she knew it, she could feel the pleasant darkness of sleep overtake her, sending her into the realm of dreams…

…

_"NO! Please! Get away from me!" she shouted as she ran through the darkened streets of Magnolia, trying to get her overtaxed legs to move a little faster than before. Something was chasing her… something horrible. She never got a glimpse of whatever was chasing her due to the fact that the being was covered in a pitch black cloak with a hood over its head, making it impossible to discern a feature, even in the bright light of the full moon. When she tried to talk to it, all she got was incomprehensible speech and growling. _

_Panting heavily, she made a turn to her right as she tried to get to safety. But, she knew that it was impossible as the horrible squelching noises and inhuman growling were still upon her. _

_Turning left, she found herself in a darkened alley… a dead end. Frantically shaking her head as tears came into her eyes she turned around, only to find the tall figure already there. Soft, maniacal laughter could be heard coming from the creature as it stumbled through the dingy alley towards her. _

_Eyes wide and full of tears, the whimpering girl backed away from the horrible creature until her leg got caught up in something and she fell down hard on her butt. _

_Crying in pain, she still continued her fruitless attempt to get away from the creature that was about to kill her when something hard and cold hit her back. Knowing that she had reached the end of line, the girl began to sob loudly._

_"Please… I beg you… don't kill me… please, I'm begging you!" she cried, looking up at the shadowy figure, trying in vain to get to it. It still approached her, not relenting in its purpose of bringing an end to her life. The inhuman cackling began to grow louder and louder. _

_"No, no, no, no, no, no… NO PLEASE NO! OH GOD PLEASE NO!" she screamed, grasping her face and shaking it horribly. It had to be a dream. It just had to be. She stopped cold when the thing was just a few feet away from her. She looked up and saw the most horrifying sight she could imagine. A pair of blood-red, soulless eyes gazing back at her with no remorse, burning through her soul. _

_"NOOOOOOOOOO!"_

…

Erza shot up from her bed, cold sweat dripping from her forehead. She was surprised. The only nightmares she ever had were about that horrible place she could not mention and losing Natsu. But not this… she never had anything like this before. One minute, she was in total darkness… in the next, she was witnessing a horrible murder. She couldn't explain that dream. All that she knew was that it was just a dream.

Noticing the small rays of sunlight peeking through her curtains, Erza shook her head softly, remembering the match she had set up with Draxnor today. It was almost time for the anticipated bout between Erza "Titania" Scarlet, the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, and Draxnor Hellion, the powerful new recruit. She still couldn't quite figure out why, but deep in her mind, she knew that this battle was going to be an unforgettable one. Something about Draxnor just screamed total power, and she wanted to test that power… see it for herself.

She then remembered how easily she had opened up to him about her little crush on Natsu. She mentally smacked herself. How could she have done that? Sure, he promised not to tell anyone about it, and he seemed rather sincere, but still… the guy was a total stranger, yet she told him one of her secrets. Did the guy cast a spell on her? No, she would've felt it. She had dealt with those kinds of spells before, so she knew the effects and sensations they caused on her.

Pushing her mental reprimands away, she jumped off her bed, showered in record time, requipped into her Heart Kreuz Armor, her blue skirt and boots and sped out of her room.

"Hey Erza!" called out one of the girls, but she was ignored by Erza as she sped down the stairs.

"Erza, what's got you in such a hurry?" asked Laki, one of the residents in Fairy Hills. Erza stopped and looked over at her. She had her short lavender hair down like always, her square glasses pressed near her eyes, a white coat extending below her waist, a red cravat tie tied to her collar, and tight, dark pants tucked in her boots.

"I've got a match today," replied Erza quickly, making her way to the door.

"Wa-Wait… What? With who?" inquired Laki, thoroughly confused.

"Come and see," Erza replied simply.

"Don't you have to feed your stomach before that?" asked Laki.

"There's no time! The guild hall is about to open and the match is set right at that time! I don't want to be late!" Erza nearly shouted. "Besides, I think the match is going to be really fast-paced, so eating right now might not be a good thing."

"Alright, alright, no need to get worked up with me. Here, at least feed your stomach with this," muttered Laki, tossing her an energy bar. "I'll be there as soon as I finish something here! Good luck!"

"Thanks," said Erza softly, nodding. Quickly unwrapping the bar and taking a large bite out of it, Erza made her way out of the apartment complex and took her usual path to get to the guild.

When she got there, she noticed that a small crowd had already gathered near the shore of Lake Scilliora, with a very recognizable tiny old man in the center. What surprised her most, if only slightly, was that Draxnor was already there. This time, he was wearing a tight red spandex t-shirt with black baggy pants and what seemed to be ornamented combat boots. He still had the trench coat on, though.

"Morning, Erza," greeted Makarov over the growing cheers from the members of the guild as she got there.

"Good morning, Master," replied Erza. "Morning, Draxnor."

"Good morning, Erza," he replied, nodding.

"Are you both ready?" asked Makarov, taking a few steps back, pointing his two index fingers at the contestants.

"Just a moment, Master," called out Erza. "Draxnor, are you perhaps… a swordsman?"

"Swordsman? Yeah," he replied. "Just give me a moment."

He raised his right hand and grabbed the left side of his trench coat. As he yanked it, flames began to invade the coat and surround Draxnor, rendering him invisible. Everyone in the crowd gasped and took a few steps back, watching as the intense flames swirled around their newest recruit like a tornado.

"Everyone, come over to my side!" commanded Makarov, gesturing for the other guild members to get away from the shore of the lake. "This might get a little intense."

And he seemed to be correct, as the already intense flames began to increase in size and heat. Suddenly, though, the flames disappeared, shocking everyone. There stood Draxnor, unharmed and unfazed by the flames, with his trench coat gone, his red shirt gone as well, revealing his very muscular and chiseled upper body, his black baggy pants taking on blood-red flaming designs on the legs, a pair of black fingerless fighting gloves on his hands and a blood-red sash appearing around his waist. His ornamented combat boots remained the same.

The first thing Erza noticed apart from his chiseled body was a pair of two large diagonal scars on his chest and abdomen: one beginning near his left shoulder and going all the way down to his right oblique, the other beginning just below his left pectoral muscle and going down to his right leg beyond the pants. After a little while, everyone else noticed the scars and gawked at them.

"How did you get those scars?" asked Erza, pointing her finger at Draxnor's chest, asking the question running through everyone's mind.

"The scars? I got these souvenirs from a dragon I fought eight years ago. He gave me these scars, while I managed to take away the claws that did the dirty work," replied Draxnor, smiling. Through the corner of his eyes, Draxnor saw everyone's jaw drop. Erza stared at him in shock as well. She never could've imagined that the new recruit was powerful enough to trade blows with a dragon, one of the most, if not _the most powerful _species of magical creature in existence, and that was eight years ago! How powerful could this man be today? Even Master Makarov was shocked senseless by this little bit of information.

"E-E-EHHHHHH?!"

"You're a Dragon Slayer?!" shouted one of the members of the crowd. Draxnor shook his head.

"Well… no matter. Let's get this over with," called out Erza. **"Requip!"**

Erza's body was surrounded by an almost blinding yellow that increased in brightness as she extended her arms away from her. A red pulse of magical energy escaped from her as the bright yellow light began to fade away, revealing Erza in her **Flame Empress Armor**.

Draxnor eyed the armor with interest, from her scarlet hair tied up in high, long pigtails with clips resembling horns to the dark red, orange and black colored breastplate reminiscent of a one piece swimming suit to the similarly colored dragon-like gauntlets and greaves. The sword she now wielded had a predominantly red blade with black running through its middle and an orange hand guard.

"Can you fly with those?" Draxnor asked, pointing at the dragon-like wings attached to the back of her breastplate.

"No… why?" asked Erza, intrigued. Draxnor sighed. '_Why would he ask such a thing? He can't fly… can he? No, it would be impossible. He has no wings! Maybe he can use __**Take Over Magic **__like Mirajane and Elfman…'_

"Bummer. I was hoping to have an aerial battle with you as well," he said nonchalantly, interrupting her thoughts.

"You can fly?" questioned Erza, sincerely hoping it weren't true. True, she had some armors that granted her the ability to fly, but they were only for short distances and short amounts of time, not for prolonged use.

"You'll see," Draxnor smirked, all but confirming it. Erza tensed up as he threw his right hand away from his body and almost closed it, as if he were wielding something. Then, fire began to sprout from his hands, taking the shape of a large split blade. Once the flames died away, everyone got a good look at the very demonic blade he held in his hands. The blade was mostly pitch black in color, with black devil wings with three red spikes pointing towards the blade and a blood-red orb right in the middle of the blade surrounded by the sharp upper canines of two skulls for a hand guard, intricate blood-red designs that ran throughout the entirety of the wide blade, giving it a very menacing appearance.

"Meet my blade, Erza Scarlet… the **Eternal Damnation**," called out Draxnor, who brought his right foot back, pointed his left palm at her, and brought his sword down, nearly touching the floor with its tip.

"It's a good thing I requipped to my **Flame Empress Armor**," Erza muttered to herself. "He seems to be an avid user of **Fire Magic **and **Requip Magic**."

"Now are you ready?" asked Master Makarov, stepping forward once again. The cheering that had died a while ago due to Draxnor's impressive flame show began to erupt at almost extreme levels.

"Yes, Master…"

"I was born ready…"

"Well then…" said Master Makarov, raising his right hand while Erza took her own battle stance.

"BEGIN!"

…

* * *

_**Who will win? Erza or Draxnor? Find out next chapter!**_

_**Now review, review, review!**_

_**Thank you for reading! Until next time! Ciao! **_


	2. Draxnor Hellion vs Erza Scarlet

_**Hello, everyone! **_

_**Here I am with Chapter 2! This chapter is the longest I have put out... yet. But I was just so inspired that it didn't even feel that long.**_

_**The anticipated battle between the rookie, Draxnor, and the S-Class, Erza is about to begin!**_

_**As always, please read and review! I would love to know what y'all think.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, its rights or any of its characters, spells, locations, etc. These belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima. I only own my OCs, my spells, etc. Any resemblance to anything or anyone, either living or dead, is purely coincidental. Also, this work is purely meant for non-profit entertainment.**

Hello " "= **Dialogue**

**Requip " "= Spells and Magical Item Names**

_What? ' ' = _**Thoughts**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Draxnor Hellion vs. Erza Scarlet**

"BEGIN!"

With a fierce war cry, Erza surrounded her blade in flames and slashed the air, sending her flame slash towards Draxnor. He stayed in his battle stance, not moving a single inch.

**"Force Shield!" **

A small, transparent red sphere appeared in front of his open palm and swelled quickly, surrounding Draxnor just as the flame slash struck. The flames pushed with a mighty force, but they were only repelled and sent around the shield.

Draxnor, noticing the flames dying out, lowered the shield, but could not see Erza through the smoke. Suddenly, she came rushing through about to give an upward diagonal slash.

_'A diversion, huh?' _thought Draxnor as he quickly lifted his blade to block her attack. Their blades met with great force, causing sparks to fly and a small shockwave to be emitted.

"I see. You have good reflexes," commented Erza, smirking. Draxnor smirked back.

She retracted her blade, and began fiercely attacking Draxnor with a combination of upward slashes, downward slashes and horizontal slashes. But none of them hit their mark due to Draxnor swiftly and accurately blocking off her attacks.

_'He's good,' _thought Erza as she continued her fierce assault. _'I have to cause another distraction and get him from behind. Yeah… that should work.'_

As she continued slashing, she began to gather flames on her blade. Draxnor, for what it seemed, hadn't seen through her attack. They both continued slashing at each other, until Erza saw a small opening.

_'There!' _she shouted mentally. She unleashed another flaming slash at point-blank range, engulfing Draxnor. She used the distraction to jump back and over his head. As she landed, she noticed that the flames that were licking at Draxnor had already disappeared, with him emerging totally unharmed, but he was still facing forward, looking for her. She lunged forward and was about to slash his back open, until he blocked her attack with his sword without even looking.

_'How'd he do that?' _thought Erza, surprised. _'Did he know that I was behind him the entire time?'_

Before she could formulate another thought, she felt an elbow sink deep into her gut, causing her to bend over, gasping in pain. Draxnor then turned and hit her chin with a powerful uppercut. Grunting in pain, Erza flew through the air, flipped over, and landed on her feet before falling on one knee.

_'Damn, he got me good,' _she mused, flinching slightly at the pain. _'Maybe he wanted me to do just that…'_

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Draxnor raised his sword up in the air and slashed it, sending a powerful red energy slash at her. Eyes widening, Erza sidestepped the attack before lunging towards him and launching a flaming slash of her own, which he blocked again with another **Force Shield**.

'_What the hell… he's only been on the defensive. What's he playing at?' _thought Erza.

Just as she was thinking that, Draxnor lunged at her with enormous speed, blade ready. Her eyes widening at the marvelous speed he displayed, Erza barely managed to lift her sword in time to block the attack. However, she did not notice the fist coming at her. He landed another powerful blow to her gut, making her gasp in pain and spit out saliva before sending her flying back.

_'Damn… those punches hurt! I have to be more careful!'_ she thought angrily as she landed and inspected her cracking armor. _'If he's that fast, then…' _

**"Requip!" **

Once again, Erza was surrounded by the blinding yellow light as she was changing her armor. When the light vanished, it revealed Erza in her rather skimpy **Flight Armor**.

Eyebrows raised in interest, Draxnor studied the "armor". It was cheetah-themed, with little ears on her head, a rather bushy collar, a breastplate that literally just looked like a bra, revealing black shorts with a belt holding a cloth over her left leg, dark armbands covering her arms with a wrist guard on her left, dark stockings with asymmetric high-heeled boots, with the left one being the taller one with a knee guard on top of it, and what seemed to be a bushy tail hanging from her butt. She now wielded a pair of short swords with hand guards resembling rose thorns.

_'This should do the trick,' _she thought.

She suddenly disappeared, shocking Draxnor. He looked around, trying to find her, until he was met with a fist to the face. He staggered back, trying to regain his lost balance until she slashed his chest, causing blood to squirt slightly. Draxnor growled in pain as he was punched once again in the jaw, causing him to fall on his back.

_'Well, well, it seems she got a lot faster with that skimpy little excuse of an armor,' _he thought as he stood up. Erza was standing right in front of him, breathing slightly heavily as she had her blades ready for another high speed assault.

"Two can play at that game, Erza," said Draxnor, lifting his left fist. Erza narrowed her eyes until she felt it: a rather large magical energy spike coming from Draxnor. A soft, white aura surrounded him as the increasing energy began to manifest itself. Then, he disappeared.

Eyes wide, Erza searched around frantically until she felt the large blade coming right at her from behind. She managed to turn around and block it before jumping back. There stood Draxnor, smirking.

_'Damn, he got fast!' _thought Erza, gritting her teeth. She then smirked.

"Well, this fight is getting interesting," she commented, taking her battle stance.

"Yes, it is," Draxnor agreed, before they both disappeared.

The guild could only see blurs as the powerful warriors decked it out in front of them. Sounds of clashing blades, sparks flying, and visible shockwaves littered throughout the battlefield. The guild members, including Master Makarov, could only watch in total shock as they witnessed a new recruit giving one of their strongest S-Class Mages a run for her money. To the guild, it was nearly impossible to see what was going on in the fight, but for Erza and Draxnor, it was clear as day.

They read each other as they clashed… felt each other's movements, their breathing, and their heartbeats. Both of them smirked as they lunged towards each other at incredible speeds, their blades connecting in a furious dance of steel and sparks. Neither of them seemed to be getting the upper hand in the fight anymore as their speed, technique and strength remained roughly equal. Whenever it seemed that one of them was about to take the upper hand, the other would counter it with a surprising move of their own.

They stopped their relentless assault for a moment to gather their breaths. Both of the warriors looked at each other with contented smirks as they readied their next move in their minds. Erza acted first as she lunged at him with speed higher than before.

**"Sonic Claw!"**

Erza began slashing at Draxnor from all directions so fast that Draxnor couldn't keep up, receiving slashes on his shoulders, arms, abdomen, back and legs, blood splattering on his body. He was sent skidding backwards, picking up dust as he went until he stopped, but he didn't fall. His chest heaving as he growled softly in pain, Draxnor closed his eyes.

"You actually managed to stay on your feet after that attack. I'm really impressed," said Erza.

"Trust me… you haven't… seen… anything yet," Draxnor heaved, smiling. He then stabbed his sword to the ground, lifted his open palm and pointed it at her. "While it may seem that you have the upper hand… it's not at all like that."

"What?" asked Erza, confused. He was bleeding profusely from almost every part of his body and his clothes were tattered and cut… how was it not like she had the upper hand? Because, according to her, she clearly had the upper hand. He was bleeding all over, while she wasn't bleeding at all. Was he bluffing?

"Let's get physical… shall we?" Draxnor proposed, bending his ring finger. Erza was about to lunge and slash him when he apparently left himself wide open, but she froze when her swords didn't budge.

"What the…"

Suddenly, the swords were yanked from her hands and stabbed into the ground meters away from her.

_'__**Telekinesis**__? Great, what else does he have?' _thought Erza, impatiently taking her battle stance.

**"Flaming Barrage!"**

Suddenly, Draxnor was upon her, his fists on fire. He delivered a flurry of punches from apparently all directions that she barely dodged, some of them licking her bare skin, burning her. She winced in pain as she began to return some of the punches, some of them being blocked while some hit their mark.

_'Crap. These are like Natsu's punches… only a lot stronger…' _thought Erza, barely avoiding a flaming fist to her left breast.

**"Black Armament!"**

There it was… the spell she wanted to see. She watched carefully through her evasion as the flames disappeared from his fists and were replaced by the solid black color she saw yesterday. However, she couldn't get much of a good look as one of his fists managed to land straight in her gut again. She bent over, screaming in pain as blood left her mouth. Somehow, the fist felt inhuman, as if the skin had become many times harder than normal. She was sent rocketing backwards until she crashed into the ground.

Coughing blood, Erza sat up and rubbed her stomach. That punch felt worse than the other blows he landed on her. Even the fiery ones paled in comparison to this one.

"What the hell is that?" she managed to say coherently through her coughing.

"**Black Armament**, a spell that hardens your body to levels beyond the finest suits of armor. As an added bonus, the physical strength of the user is doubled, with no loss in speed. As you can see, a great spell for both offensive and defensive purposes," explained Draxnor as he made his way towards her, his black arms returning to their normal color.

"I see…" Erza muttered, thinking about a strategy she could use to counter that virtually undefeatable spell. She then got an idea.

'_Yeah, that would probably work,' _she thought proudly.

**"Requip!"**

For the third time this morning, Erza was surrounded by the bright yellow light as she changed into another armor. When the light vanished, Erza appeared in her **Black Wing Armor**.

This armor resembled an actual armor a lot more than her **Flight Armor**, with large shoulder pads composed of two silver-edged plates one over the other decorated with silver crosses flanking her high collar and gem-imbued neck guard, a silver-edged breastplate that still exposed quite a bit of her cleavage and stomach with plates extending all the way down to her large waist guard, which was composed of large plates decorated with silver crosses surrounding her lower body but still leaving the front part of her groin exposed, which was covered with a dark imbuement. She had silver patterned slim gauntlets and silver-edged plates guarding her thighs and knees ending with pitch black greaves. Large bat-like wings adorned the back of her breastplate, and she had her hair tied up in a high ponytail with two bangs framing her face.

The sword, however, had a slightly more intricate and interesting design compared to her armor. It was a multicolored purple and silver blade with two red gems spread apart equally among the blade with a brown hilt and golden hand guard.

_'Time to fly…' _thought Erza as she spread her wings and pointed her sword at Draxnor. He, however, just stood there, immobile.

"So you _can_ fly, eh?" Draxnor asked, smirking at this new development. "Very well then… Let's dance…"

Erza responded by jumping up high into the air and raising her sword ready for an attack. The only thing was that she didn't get close to him.

**"Moon Flash!"**

She suddenly rushed towards him and slashed in a cross pattern, releasing light blue energy slashes that shot towards Draxnor, who smirked and crossed his forearms in front of his chest.

**"Black Armament!"**

His arms turned black once again as the slash struck him with a massive amount of force, sending him skidding backwards along with it. He unleashed a war cry as he focused on holding the slash, but he did not notice Erza coming back at him from behind.

His eyes widened in surprise as he felt her sword slashing his back, feeling blood flowing out of the fresh wound. He roared in pain as the **Moon Flash **overcame him and crashed onto him, shaking the battlefield and lifting a huge amount of dust. Erza flew out of the dust and landed meters away from it, breathing heavily. She stared at the dust cloud, trying to see if there was any movement from Draxnor since his cry of pain had already died out. Nothing…

She was about to chant victory when she felt something insanely sharp graze the left side of her stomach, cutting through her armor and ripping through flesh. She cried in pain as blood flowed out and she noticed the culprit that caused her newest wound: Draxnor's **Eternal Damnation**. She hadn't taken into account the fact that he had stabbed the damn blade into the ground a few minutes ago and that he could use **Telekinesis **to call it to his side anytime he wanted. Wincing in pain, she studied her wound. While there was a good amount of blood flowing out, the wound didn't seem too deep for it to be considered a threat. She could still fight.

Chuckling could be heard through the clearing dust cloud, snapping Erza's attention from her wound. Her eyes widened considerably when two incredibly large red energy slashes facing opposite diagonal directions popped out of the dust, racing and slashing the ground beneath towards her. She managed to jump out of the way with added help from her wings as the attacks raced by her, barely missing her. The dust cloud suddenly dispersed, revealing Draxnor surrounded by his **Force Shield**.

_'Damn… that was close… _too _close,'_ thought Erza as she straightened her posture.

"You got me good, Erza. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that. But no matter… this fight is barely starting to get real good, and I have no plans of stopping until I beat you," stated Draxnor, grinning.

Draxnor's sword suddenly burst into flames, surprising Erza. After a little while, they disappeared along with the blade. Then, Draxnor crouched and crossed his forearms in front of him. With a piercing roar, he began to power up, red magical energy swirling around him. Erza could only watch in shock as she felt his energy climbing higher and higher to unforeseen levels. The ground began to crack and shake violently and harsh gusts of wind picked up massive amounts of dust, covering him completely. Even though she could not see him, she knew that he was still there, due to the fact that the swirling red vortex of energy increased in width and height as the ground shook ever more violently.

The swirling vortex of energy kept on growing until it enveloped her. Instantly, she felt the air leave her body as immense amounts of pressure were applied to her from all directions. Struggling to breathe, Erza tried to get away, but she just couldn't. She felt like a helpless little girl in ironclad chains under deep water, struggling to move, losing her breath, and sinking slowly.

Suddenly, just as the energy enveloped her and nearly took all of her breath away, it disappeared, along with the harsh winds and the violent earthquake. Erza stood there with bated breath as the dust cloud began to slowly clear. A sharp, crackling sound rang throughout the tense silence. When the dust cleared, Erza's eyes widened as far as they could go at the sight. Draxnor stood there, a blazing red aura, more majestic and powerful than anything she had ever seen before, swirling around him and sharp, crackling blue electricity occasionally appearing over his entire body. He slowly walked towards her, a wide smile on his face.

"Now, let's get the _real _fight started," he spoke softly with a very menacing tone. Shivers ran down Erza's spine. Just how powerful had the man gotten? She felt the immense magical pressure, and she couldn't believe it. But there it was. Draxnor Hellion, the new recruit of the Fairy Tail Guild, was now unleashing more power than Erza "Titania" Scarlet, one of the S-Class Mages. It was impossible… It had to be… There was no possible way for him to have so much power. Then again, he managed to wound a dragon, a virtually indestructible force of magic and nature.

Erza gritted her teeth, trying to think of a way to somehow win this fight. She couldn't lose this fight… she just couldn't. Her pride as the strongest woman in Fairy Tail and one of the S-Class Mages was on the line. She couldn't let the new guy besmirch her reputation. She had promised Natsu that she would never lose to anyone… only to _him_. She gripped her blade tighter than before and took on a battle stance.

"Let's begin…"

…

Shocked… Stupefied… Horrified…

Those were some of the words that could be used to describe how the guild felt at watching this fight. It was as if two gods of war were unleashed upon this world to battle each other for ultimate supremacy. They just couldn't believe what was going on. The most the guild had expected from this fight was a short scuffle that ended with Erza taking the victory as always. But what they got was entirely different. Both wizards were terribly wounded… well, Draxnor mostly… and the fight just kept going and going with no end in the vicinity.

Then, to make things worse, Draxnor had begun to truly let out. It seemed that in their initial round he was holding back as if to test the waters of Erza "Titania" Scarlet. Now, he had unleashed the monster within, power flowing out with such force that the ground began to crumble and shake at its might. Even the air itself seemed to run away as gale force winds struck them and the guild hall, nearly blowing them away. And to add to a seemingly endless list of amazing things they saw in this short morning, when Draxnor finished powering up, he had a blazing red aura swirling around him with blue electricity crackling just above his body, creating a sight to behold and remember. Yup, it seemed that this morning was full of surprises, and it still wasn't done.

Master Makarov was very amazed at Draxnor's abilities, but he was also worried. The kid had a lot more power than he let on at the beginning, and the master had a fleeting suspicion that they haven't even scraped the surface of Draxnor's abilities. The prospect of that terrified him.

"Hmmmm…"

"Is there something wrong, Master?" asked Mirajane, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Oh… nothing, my dear… nothing," he replied. By then, the entire guild had turned to face him as Erza and Draxnor were now having a small conversation they could not hear.

"Master, your face is clearly saying the opposite. Tell us! We also would like to know what you're thinking about this fight!" insisted Mirajane.

"Yeah, come on, Master! Tell us!" added Levy.

Soon after, the collective shouts of the guild began to ring around him as they all pushed to get out what was on their master's mind. A tick mark appearing on his forehead, Master Makarov finally relented and opted for telling them.

"Alright, alright! Shut up, brats! I'll tell you," he said, slightly irritated, earning a collective whoop from the guild. "I fear that Erza is going to lose this one…"

It took a few seconds for his words to finally sink into the guild's rampant minds. Once they did, they all adopted looks of horror on their faces.

_'Erza is going to lose this one…'_

"EEEEEHHHHHHH?!"

"That can't be true, Master!"

"Tell us you're joking!"

"You have a great sense of humor, Master!"

"That's a good one, Master! You almost had us there!"

When they saw his unchanged expression, they all paled.

"You're… being… serious?"

He nodded, making them pale even more.

"No way…"

"It's not possible, Master…"

"Yeah, no way in Hell is Erza going to lose…"

"Yeah, especially to the newbie!"

"The old man's right… that weakling Erza is definitely going to lose…" sneered a new voice. Everyone turned around to see and probably rant at the owner of the voice. However, none of them did after they saw who it was.

Spiked up blond hair with a few hairs running down his forehead, gray eyes, distinctive lightning-shaped scar on his right eye, a mocking smile, spiked magical headphones playing Rock 'n' Roll on his ears, tall and well-built with a leopard-themed orange long-sleeve shirt with wine-red pants and white shoes, and a long black coat with a gray fur lining draped over his shoulders like a cape… Laxus Dreyar had appeared.

"Laxus! That's not very nice!" reprimanded Mirajane indignantly.

"Wow, old man… for once, I agree with you!" Laxus smirked, totally ignoring Mirajane's reprimand. She huffed in annoyance and turned around, muttering "he'll never learn" under her breath.

"Hey, Laxus…" said Master Makarov, rubbing his forehead. He did not need another headache from his stubborn, arrogant grandson… not right now.

"Where did you get this guy? For once, you actually recruited someone decently strong into this guild of weaklings!" commented Laxus. "To actually beat the crap out of Erza, that's a feat of its own… even if it isn't much in the first place."

"Laxus, what are you even doing here in the first place?" asked Makarov, seemingly annoyed.

"Well, nothing old man… I just came to tell you that I saw a little blue thing fly to the second floor and steal an S-Class Request, that's all. Oh, but you already know that, don't you?" snickered Laxus, shrugging his shoulders and laughing slightly afterwards.

Master Makarov's eyes widened. Of course he knew that one of the S-Class Requests went missing… it was Happy, Natsu's little blue flying cat friend that did it. And most likely, Lucy had tagged along with that job. But he had already sent Gray to stop them and get them back by any means necessary. It seems that didn't work… Damn it… another headache he wanted to forget right now.

"Little… blue… thing…" stuttered Mirajane before gasping loudly. "Oh no, that's Happy! You mean Natsu's going on an S-Class Quest?!"

"That thing was that idiot Natsu's? Ha ha, what a dumbass!" laughed Laxus. "Yeah, and probably that hot new blond partner of his is with him, too!"

"Oh, no…" gasped Mirajane shakily as she put her hands over her mouth. However, she soon angered and gave Laxus a death glare.

"Why didn't you stop him?!" she screamed, jabbing a finger at him.

"How the hell was I supposed to know that little fur ball belonged to that pink-haired idiot, huh?" he retorted, a mocking smirk on his face. Mirajane angrily turned towards Master Makarov, who had his eyes closed.

"Master?" she asked, trying her best to remain calm. "Did you know this already?"

When he didn't answer, she pressed on impatiently, "Did you?!"

Opening his eyes, Master Makarov replied, "Yes, I did, Mira… I knew that Natsu stole one of the S-Class Requests…"

"Why didn't you stop him?!" she screamed again.

"Because when I found out, it was already long gone!" he retorted back loudly, losing his patience slightly. "I sent Gray to bring them back by any means necessary, but I guess that didn't work… Just make sure that Erza doesn't find out after this fight is over. She's going to want to go get them back, but she will be in no condition to do so…"

"Then why don't you stop the fight?" asked Mirajane heatedly, now showing concern for her longtime rival.

"Because she asked me not to! She told me that she wanted to know the full extent of Draxnor's power, and she was prepared to do anything to do so! And frankly, I am also very interested in finding out the extent of his power. But something tells me that this fight won't be enough… something tells me that we haven't even scraped the surface of that brat's powers," Makarov explained, his voice loud until it gradually descended into cryptic softness.

"So you're basically going to let her die to find out about his power?!" screeched Mirajane.

"Of course not! She knows when to admit defeat, no matter how stubborn she is! And I know Draxnor has no killing intent!" Makarov yelled back.

"Can't you feel the amount of magical energy he's releasing, Master?!" asked Mirajane, who was now being held back by Elfman, albeit futilely. "It's enormous!"

"I can feel it, Mira! I'm not a senile old man yet!" Makarov retorted.

"You're not that far…" Laxus muttered to himself and smirked shortly after that.

The argument seemed to never end, with the guild almost growing tired of it. However, a massive energy spike did the impossible.

**"1000 Flames of Hell!" **

From the sky rained a rainbow-colored barrage of flames towards the shore of the lake, where Erza most likely was. Just when the flames touched, a massive rainbow-colored explosion ensued, shaking the ground down to its very core. Harsh gusts of wind blew past the guild members as they shielded themselves from them and the added dust. When the dust and smoke cleared, a huge crater was left in its wake, with water from the lake already beginning to flow in. Horrified, the guild looked over at the potential resting place of their Titania.

"ERZA!"

Mirajane cover her mouth with her hands as tears began to escape from her eyes.

"Oh no…"

…

Draxnor eyed the massive crater he caused, his blazing red aura and blue electricity still surrounding him, searching through the smoke for any signs of his scarlet-haired opponent. He knew that she had evaded the attack. He could still sense her magical energy somewhere down there, lurking in the clearing darkness the smoke and dust presented. He had not intended on leaving such a large crater, for it was now slowly filling up with the lake's water.

Agonizingly long minutes passed, but he could still not find Erza. Where the hell was she hiding?

Then, he felt it… something coming up from behind him. He turned around to see what it was, only to be met by a massive blow, courtesy of a large black mace. Roaring in pain as he spat out blood, Draxnor was thrown towards the ground with incredible force and was met with an earth-shattering crash.

Erza landed a good distance away from the cloud of dust the shrouded his crash site, panting heavily. She frantically tried to process what just happened a few minutes before she struck him with her mace.

All she saw was a bright orb of rainbow-colored flames forming in the sky after he had finished powering up and disappeared suddenly. She marveled at the speed he now boasted, but he didn't give her enough time to process it as the massively powerful attack was already onto her. After that, all she remembered was a massive rainbow-colored explosion, a ton of dust in the air, a crater big enough to hold the entire guild hall snugly, and water flowing in from the lake.

Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind and focusing on the task at hand, she scrutinized the dust cloud until it cleared, revealing Draxnor walking towards her slowly, the blazing aura and electricity still surrounding him, smiling. She cringed at what she saw. Blood was flowing down the right side of his face over his eye, and coming out both sides of his mouth. Added with all the cuts he had received from her earlier assaults, he sported a rather gruesome appearance. Yet he still kept on walking towards her as if nothing had happened, smiling widely… a smile that sent horrible shivers down her spine. He looked positively monstrous… almost demonic…

She couldn't believe it one bit. She had struck him right on his head with her mace, but he had just brushed it off like it was nothing but a small tap. She couldn't think of anyone strong enough to withstand such a blow to the head with that mace, except perhaps Master Makarov and a few of the members, Natsu included. But even they, with the probable exception of Master Makarov, would actually be struggling to maintain themselves on their feet after the attack, not strolling towards her casually. But here was Draxnor, doing just that. It almost terrified her…

Draxnor, on the other hand, studied her new armor closely as he walked towards her. It was a total change from her other armors. This one looked like something an acquaintance of his would gladly wear. The breastplate was like a short metallic dress, with dark slate being the dominant color with a bit of gray trimming. She had what it seemed to be a necklace of small, black diamond-shaped jewels and a horn protruding from the left side of her head. The shoulder guards were gray with a large spike protruding from both of them. The arm guards were similar, a weaving pattern coursing through them with the spikes getting progressively smaller the closer they got to the wrists. Her thigh-length greaves were similar to her arm guards, with a weaving pattern and the spikes beginning at her knees, getting progressively smaller the closer they were to her feet.

What took the cake, though, was her oversized mace. The mace was larger than her, gray with six black spikes, starting off large close to the middle of the mace and getting smaller as they reached the hook end of it.

"What's the name of that armor?" asked Draxnor, pointing at her, still keeping that rather creepy smile.

"T-This?" she stuttered slightly. _'Damn it, Erza! Get it together!'_

"Yeah… that," he confirmed.

"Oh… this is my **Purgatory Armor**, one of the strongest armors in my arsenal," she explained, brandishing her mace. "This armor provides the same benefits as your **Black Armament**, doubling my physical strength and giving me great defensive capabilities. What's more, this armor gives me a large boost in my speed… not as much as my **Flight Armor**, but close enough…"

"Well, well… it seems you've been holding back… like me…" muttered Draxnor softly, smirking. However, Erza managed to catch what he said.

"You've been holding back even more of your power?" she nearly screeched.

"Oh, yeah… you have no idea…" he smirked, taking a battle stance. "But enough of the petty talk… let's get down to business…"

He lunged at her, a fierce war cry escaping his lips and his right fist held back. Erza responded by lifting her mace in front of her in a defensive position. When he was about to throw his punch, Erza ducked and swung her mace upward, aiming to decimate him with that single blow. However, Draxnor blocked the mace with just his left hand, twisted and landed a powerful kick to her side. She grunted in pain as he pushed the mace into the ground, effectively pinning it for a moment. He then proceeded to yank the mace from her right hand, but she hit him in the face with her left fist just in the nick of time. He bent in the direction of her strike, but he managed to land another powerful kick to her gut. Gasping in pain, both combatants skidded away from each other, Erza losing her mace and breathing heavily while Draxnor only smiled.

_'Why the hell does he keep smiling?! Is he mocking me?!'_ shouted Erza in her mind.

Both of them rushed at each other and jumped at the same time, fists outstretched. They met in the air, unleashing a powerful shockwave. Erza unleashed a flurry of punches as they both descended into the ground, with Draxnor reciprocating most of them, still that increasingly detestable smile on his face.

"Stop mocking me!" she shouted as she tried to land a kick into his gut, only to be blocked by his right hand.

"I'm not, Erza… I'm only enjoying this fight. I am especially enjoying this new armor of yours. It really hits my sweet spot, and it fits you quite nicely," he commented, sounding as sincere as he could in the middle of the bout.

"Uh… Thanks… I have to say… this is one of my favorite armors as well…" she said, smiling as they landed. Once they did, they both gave a roundhouse kick that met right in between them, and then they jumped away from each other.

"There you go, Erza…" Draxnor said suddenly, stopping her in her tracks as she prepared to attack him.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"The smile…" he replied. "We're not trying to kill each other. Even though it may seem like that with all the blood we have spilled, this is just an all-out spar. I really do hope you are enjoying this fight as much as I am. So let's just focus on enjoying this match…"

"I see… Very well, let's," she said as she lunged towards her mace. She landed not so far away from it, skidding with her right hand outstretched. She gripped the mace as she continued skidding, lifted it and threw it at Draxnor with a roar.

Draxnor lunged towards the mace, throwing his right hand out, the familiar sword-spawning flames appearing. Before the mace hit, Draxnor swung his newly formed sword with great ferocity and hit the mace away before landing and lunging once again towards Erza.

He jabbed the sword at her as he arrived, but she managed to smack the blade away before it impaled her with her left hand and threw a punch at him with her right. However, her fist never met its mark, for he grabbed it with his left hand. She threw another punch with her left hand but he blocked it with his right knee. He then brought his other knee up and slammed her gut with it, causing her to bend over, gasping in pain as she coughed out blood. His next move, however, proved to be more devastating than anything he had done before, except perhaps his **1000 Flames of Hell**.

Draxnor grabbed her wrist as it fell to her side along and forced her to remain standing. He pulled his right fist behind him and kept it there, dropping his sword to the ground. Erza locked eyes with him, trying to discern his next move.

"What are you doing?" she asked, coughing slightly.

"Isn't it obvious, Erza? I'm ending this fight…" he replied, clenching his fist harder.

"W-What do you mean?" she demanded, still not grasping the predicament she was in. He wanted to answer, but resorted to just showing her what he meant.

**"Black Force Armament!" **

Erza watched with teeth gritted in nervousness as his right arm became that dreaded solid black color. However, that was not the only thing that happened. His fist was then surrounded by a transparent red sphere that suddenly began to bubble violently, as if it were boiling.

_'What is this? I've never felt such unstable energy before!' _thought Erza frantically.

The red sphere began to take on liquid properties as little slivers of the boiling energy began to overflow and fall to the ground. Burning hot steam emanated from the orb and the ground just below it. Erza frantically tried to yank her arm away from him, but to no avail… his grip was just too strong. She wanted to punch him with her left hand, but she knew that he was going to block with that sphere. Unpleasant thoughts invaded her mind about the possible effects of that thing. She kicked a few times but he kept on blocking her with _his _legs. He then jumped over her feet, pinning her there.

She was trapped… there was no escape. No matter how hard she struggled to yank her fist and her legs away from him, she always failed. Things just seemed to get worse when the sphere expanded and took the shape of his arm. Now his entire arm was surrounded by this boiling energy, and she was going to be on the receiving end of it.

"Oh no…"

**"Oblivion Fist!" **

Draxnor delivered the devastating blow to her gut, instantly breaking through her powerful armor and sinking into her flesh. A soundless scream of pain escaped Erza's lips as she doubled over, eyes as wide as they could go and blood coming out of her mouth. She could feel almost every bone in her body break under the pressure of the massively powerful blow. However, her nightmare was only beginning, for she could feel the flesh of her stomach burn with the heat the boiling energy produced.

Erza unleashed an ear-splitting scream of torturous pain as the immense amount of unneeded heat invaded the rest of her already broken body. Agonizingly long seconds passed with his scorching hot fist buried in her belly, feeling like if her skin was about to melt at any moment. She couldn't take it anymore. She felt like she was going to die from the indescribable pain. Just when she was about to scream for him to stop, he removed the fist from her gut, the **Black Force Armament **dissipating. He moved closer to her ear as he descended to the ground, his left arm wrapped around her waist and supporting her back. She then faintly felt his muscular leg on her upper back. Darkness was beginning to claim her as she felt her consciousness slip.

The seemingly impossible happened. After a long, arduous fight, Draxnor did as he said. He ended the fight… He beat her. Draxnor Hellion, the newest recruit of the Fairy Tail Guild… had defeated her, the mighty Erza Scarlet…

…

When Erza had emerged from the large dust cloud unharmed after Draxnor's extremely powerful attack, the guild in its entirety couldn't help but sigh heavily in relief at the fact that their Titania was still with them and ready for more. And to make things better, she was now in her **Purgatory Armor**, one of her strongest armors. Now Draxnor was in for a treat Erza style. The crowd cheered and whooped at Erza as she sailed up into the air behind a floating Draxnor… Wait… a floating… Draxnor…

"E-E-EHHHHHHH?!"

The crowd screamed together for the umpteenth time as another amazing thing graced their eyes. Draxnor was up in the air… He was flying… without the assistance of anything… no wings, no rocket-propelled shoes… Amazement and curiosity crept into the minds of everyone watching as they wondered just how Draxnor was able to maintain himself in the air. Maybe it had to do with that blazing red godlike aura that was surrounding him. Maybe it had to do with the pure blue electricity crackling just above his skin. Maybe…

Erza smashed her overly large mace on Draxnor's head, sending him reeling to the ground. Everyone, even Laxus, who for some reason stayed to watch the fight, cringed at that. Draxnor was surely going to feel that tomorrow morning… scratch that, _right now_. Everyone cringed again when Draxnor crashed, but began cheering when Erza landed a few meters away from the dust cloud that had emerged.

When Draxnor didn't emerge from the cloud, people began to call Erza's victory. Others couldn't help but agree. This was Erza they were talking about. She would win no matter what. They had to give Draxnor credit, though. Not many people actually managed to push Erza to this level, not even Natsu… and _that_ was saying something. But still, Erza won, and that was what mattered.

"It seems you were wrong, Master Makarov…"

"Told ya Erza would win! She's undefeatable!"

"Wahoo! Erza won!"

"It's great that Erza won, but… damn, that Draxnor packs a punch!"

"Who cares? Erza won!"

"Draxnor fought like a REAL MAN! But it wasn't enough…"

"Seriously, Elfman?"

However, their cries of Erza's victory were abruptly silenced when Draxnor emerged from the dust cloud, beaten and bloody, but smiling. The man was _smiling_. It was at this point that some people began to have small doubts about his mental health. Was he _insane_? Why would he still be smiling when he was _that_ injured? To some it did not make any sense. Either Draxnor was super powerful or he was just plain loco.

"Aw, man… I told ya before… he gives me the creeps…"

"That smile… it's different from his others…"

"Scary…"

"He's not scary! He's a REAL MAN!"

"DAMN IT, ELFMAN! WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP WITH THAT?!"

"Wow… such a strong man! I'm so glad I asked him out on a date…"

"Yeah, Cana, lucky you…"

Their comments were interrupted when they heard Draxnor roar and lunge at Erza, his fist raised. When Erza swung her mace at him, they thought that she was going to land a direct blow… but he blocked it with his left hand. What a surprise. Slowly, the guild wasn't getting as surprised anymore at Draxnor's awesome stunts. However, they _were_ surprised when he landed a kick after being socked in the face by Erza.

"Master, how long are they going to go at it?" asked Mirajane, who was smiling tearfully after seeing that Erza emerged safe.

"I don't know, Mira, my dear. But one thing I do tell you… I can see that they're getting tired… Erza mostly," replied Master Makarov.

"I'm starting to doubt that guy's strength already… I mean, is he really having such a hard time dealing with that weakling Erza? I would've wiped the floor with her already," Laxus said mockingly.

"Laxus!" cried Mirajane indignantly.

"Well, this fight got pretty boring, so I'm going inside…" continued Laxus, ignoring Mirajane and walking away.

"Good riddance…" muttered Mirajane.

"Miiraaa…"

"Y-Yes, M-Master?"

"Hey, what's going on over there?"

"Yeah, why isn't Erza moving?"

"And why is Draxnor's fist surrounded by… oh crap, do you feel that?"

"Yeah… so unstable…"

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Why is his magical energy so unstable?" muttered Makarov to himself.

**"Oblivion Fist!"**

Then they heard it… Erza's uninhibited scream of pain as Draxnor seemingly plunged whatever magical concoction he had come up with into her stomach. Looks of unadulterated horror and fear spread across the guild members' faces as they heard one of their strongest scream with such agony… agony they would not even wish on their worst enemies. Suddenly, she stopped screaming. Fearing the worst, the entire guild rushed to the scene.

"ERZA!"

…

"ERZA!"

"Don't worry, Erza. You're not going to die. I have the perfect potion that'll have up and running in no time," Draxnor whispered reassuringly. "It might not be the tastiest thing in the world, but it'll do the trick."

"Y-Y-You do?" she gasped, managing to stay conscious, her breathing completely ragged and labored.

"ERZA!"

"Of course, Erza. Here, let me get it for you," he replied, raising his arm, his palm facing the sky. Suddenly, they were surrounded by the vortex of flames, but instead of burning like that hellish fist, they felt warm and tingly. They felt safe.

She noticed that the clothes that Draxnor was wearing the night before appeared on him as some of the flames surrounding him settled on his bloody body. His sword burst into flames and disappeared. After his clothes had appeared and his sword vanished, though, the vortex didn't disappear, as she expected it to do. Instead, the flames kept on swirling around them, bathing them in light and heat.

"Draxnor…" Erza wheezed. "Why aren't the flames…"

"Shhhh," hushed Draxnor, placing his index finger on his lips. He then dug into one of the pockets in his coat and pulled out a small, cone-shaped vial with a glossy black liquid inside of it. "Here… the potion I said would cure everything."

"W-What is t-t-this?" she asked shakily, gasping for air as she took the vial.

"I call it the **Spiritual Mastermind Potion**… it's one of my specialties," Draxnor explained. Erza opened her mouth to ask another question, but he quieted her with a finger to her lips. "Before you ask… this potion has the ability to heal all physical wounds, no matter how harsh they are, and restore your magical energy up to its maximum. To tell you the truth, you get what I call an "Energy High", where your magical energy is literally unlimited, but that only lasts for about 10 to 15 minutes, and it only happens _after_ you have fully recovered, which usually takes from an hour to about six depending on the severity of your injuries."

"ERZA!"

"Really?" asked Erza, eyeing the vial in disbelief. That didn't last long, though, as she began to cough up more blood.

"Enough explanations, Erza. Drink it before you _really_ die," urged Draxnor. He sure as hell did not want _that _to happen…

Nodding, Erza popped out the little cork and chugged the entire contents of the vial. She nearly regretted doing that as an incredibly foul flavor invaded her mouth, making her instantly nauseous. He was right… the thing tasted horrible beyond description. She turned to Draxnor while coughing, only to see him with an amused expression. She tried to give him the best death glare she could in her current conditions, but that didn't do anything.

However, she instantly felt some of the effects of the potion as she felt her bones began to re-mend, albeit painfully, and her superficial wounds began to seal shut. Hell, she even felt some of her magical energy returning, flowing through her body, giving her an intense refreshing feeling. That, coupled with the warmth of the vortex that _still hadn't disappeared_, made her feel _really _good.

"Now, all you need to do is rest for about an hour or two and you'll be a-okay," piped up Draxnor, winking at her.

"Thanks, Draxnor…"

"For what?" he asked.

"For allowing me to challenge you to an all-out sparring match, and for treating my wounds," she replied, locking eyes with him.

"Ah, no need to worry… you wanted to see my power, right? I did not want to disappoint my superior," said Draxnor, looking away and smiling.

"Superior? But… you defeated me in battle…" said Erza, confused.

"I may have done that, but you clearly expressed that you weren't using your full power… and trust me, what I've shown you hasn't even scraped the surface of what I _can_ do. Anyway, you're an S-Class Mage, while I'm just the new recruit," explained Draxnor. "Therefore, you are my superior."

"I see…" said Erza softly, smiling. "Damn… that last attack of yours really lives up to its name. I can still feel your damn fist here in my gut. It truly did feel like you were punching me into oblivion. Where'd you develop such a horrifying spell?"

"Long story short, I was fighting a guy that was proving to be a rather tough opponent, so I thought of different ways to end him and ended up with that," replied Draxnor, sighing deeply.

"ERZA!"

"I think you might want to answer that. They are getting rather frantic," said Draxnor.

"Well, if you would've taken down your vortex of flames, I think I would've answered already," she retorted.

"Tch, point taken. Can you walk?" he asked, starting to rise as the flames began to diminish.

"I don't know… I can still feel my bones re-mending," replied Erza. Draxnor nodded, then placed his other arm under her legs and lifted her bridal style.

"Forgive me, Natsu, for doing this to your future girlfriend," he said offhandedly, making Erza squeak and blush slightly. He smiled widely. "Well, well, I never expected such a sound to escape the mighty "Titania" Erza."

"Shut up! Just carry me into the infirmary!" she nearly shouted, giving him a much more effective glare, causing him to chuckle softly.

"Very well… Can you requip into something more comfortable?" Draxnor asked. "It must be pretty uncomfortable wearing your **Purgatory Armor**, especially with the magical energy it consumes and it being all broken."

"Not yet… I'm still a little drained, even though I already feel my magical energy returning to me," Erza replied, closing her eyes.

"Very well, then. Allow me to take away your armor from you. Don't worry. I'll give you some of…" he trailed off, biting his bottom lip slightly. Sighing, he continued, "… _her_ clothes so you won't have to worry about getting yours… unless you want me to get them."

"No… it's fine," she said simply.

"So, you do want to borrow clothes?" he asked, confused.

"No… I'll stay in this armor, but thanks for offering," she replied, smiling softly.

"Very well then… at least let me repair it for you. The condition isn't so good," he commented, inspecting her broken armor.

"Alright, I'll allow you to do that," she relented. He smile before placing crouching, leaning her back on his left arm and leg, bringing her legs down to the floor slowly and placing his right hand on the hole in her armor right above her belly.

**"Remendado Reforza!"**

Erza's armor began to glow in a pale white light as she felt the armor begin to repair itself. Amazed at what she was seeing and feeling, Erza wondered just what other incredible abilities Draxnor possessed under his belt. The armor stopped glowing and Erza marveled at its look. Apart from the armor being totally repaired, it looked stronger than ever.

"What did you do to my armor?" she asked, amazement clear in her voice.

"Apart from repairing it, I strengthened its defensive qualities. Now, it will take about two decently powered **Oblivion Fists **to get through your armor," he replied, smiling.

"Wow…" she simply said, still looking at her armor with awe. "You can actually do that?"

"Yeah! But it takes a heck of a lot of magic energy, so I use it sparingly," Draxnor replied, struggling slightly to get on his feet.

"Why don't you just drink one of your awesome… nasty-tasting potions?" she asked, her face distorting slightly in disgust.

"Why? Because I have a rather limited supply, _and _making just a vial of those things takes a lot of time and careful preparation… one little mistake, just one, and you have a horrifying death potion you wouldn't want to wish on your _worst _enemies," Draxnor replied, smirking. "I forgot to tell you… the potion leaves a long-lasting aftertaste, so you might want to brace yourself."

"Damn it! Really?" she asked frantically. Oh, no… not that. She did not want to have an aftertaste of _that_ horrendous concoction. Good as it may be, the thing tasted horrible! Good thing he only had a limited supply of that damn potion. She would probably die of nausea if she were to consume another vial of that _foul-tasting _potion. He had to better the taste of that thing, because it really was a helpful little gadget to get out of tight spots.

"Yeah…" he replied, trying hard to keep a straight face and not burst into laughter. Oh, how he was enjoying this… tricking the great Titania Erza. The potion didn't leave a _bad _aftertaste; it actually amplified the sensitivity of an individual's taste buds. So, if Erza were to eat something that she enjoyed, the taste of it would be amplified twice as much. But she didn't need to know _that_… 

She groaned in displeasure. "Damn it, Draxnor! You should have told me before! How long is it going to last?"

Draxnor placed his right thumb and finger on his chin, feigning deep thought. "It should last about a few days to a week. It depends…"

"Ugh… fine, I'll deal with it. But you better not tell anyone!" she growled, glaring at him menacingly. He nodded, smiling. "And why aren't the flames gone already?!"

"Oh, yeah… sorry about that," he apologized, raising his palm again to the sky. The flames instantly dissipated, revealing the crowd of Fairy Tail guild members surrounding them, most of them with concerned expressions and a few of them, namely Mirajane, with tears in their eyes.

"ERZA!"

"You're alright!"

"What a relief!"

"We were so worried about you!"

"Draxnor… what did you do to her? It sounded like you were torturing her…" Master Makarov inquired sternly, apparently ignoring the bloodied state of his newest member. Draxnor stood up, lifting Erza in bridal-style again.

"Forgive me, Master…" he apologized, bowing his head, while Erza gave him a small smile.

"It was nothing, Master… we went slightly overboard, that's all…" Erza replied for Draxnor.

"Overboard? That's the understatement of understatements! You literally destroyed the entire street! The Council will not let me hear the end of this!" Makarov shouted.

Draxnor eyed the area. Yup, they pretty much leveled the entire street. The biggest bit of destruction was that massive crater _he _caused. Good thing they didn't take it to the center of town, or a large scale catastrophe would've ensued… not that they would actually do it in the first place.

"How are you wounds, Erza?" Mirajane asked concernedly.

"They'll be okay… Draxnor gave me this amazing potion that heals all of your physical wounds and restores your magic energy to full power. So, according to him, I'll be up and running within two to three hours," Erza replied unconcernedly. "Why?"

"Oh… we should take you inside… can you walk?" she inquired further.

"Ummm, not really. Draxnor kind of broke the majority of my bones…" Erza said tentatively, as if debating whether she should tell the truth or not.

"HE WHAT?!"

"Forgive me everyone…" Draxnor apologized again. "I will take her inside and personally take care of her."

"That's fine, my boy. But who will care for your wounds?" asked Master Makarov.

"I can do it!" Mirajane offered happily.

"Thank you, Mira. But I'll be fine," Draxnor attempted to turn her down, but she gave him one of her trademark creepy smiles. "Are you trying to scare me? Because trust me, it's not working…"

"Nonsense, Draxnor. Look at you. You're covered in blood!" Mirajane almost shouted, walking over and inspecting him. She leaned slightly over Erza. "May I?"

"What?"

"May I look into your shirt, Draxnor?" she asked.

"Oh… Um, sure," he replied.

Mirajane opened up his shirt as he slowly lowered Erza's feet to the ground.

"Hey, Draxnor, what the hell are you doing?" Erza demanded forcefully, wincing in pain when her feet touched the floor.

"About 10 minutes have passed since you drank the potion. You should be able to walk already, albeit slowly and painfully," he said calmly. Noticing her positively outraged expression, he added, "Don't worry. I'm not going to make you walk. You can lean on my shoulder for support while Mira inspects me. After she's done, I'll carry you into the guild's infirmary."

"Fine… you better," she muttered, giving him… a pout?

_'Since when did Erza become so childish?'_ thought Draxnor, looking at Erza intently.

"Draxnor, just take off everything… your coat, your shirt… everything. I'm pretty sure you have wounds on your back," Mirajane ordered, snapping his attention towards her.

"Sure, just hold on to Erza for a moment," replied Draxnor, undressing. After he did, Erza almost jumped off Mirajane and supported herself on him.

Mirajane eyed his entire upper body with concern, walking around him, locating every wound he had. Surprisingly, though, almost all of the wounds that should've still been bleeding, since they were so recent and were rather large, had closed up, leaving only drying blood on his body.

"Wow… Erza did quite a number on you… but strangely, your wounds are already mostly healed," Mirajane commented, a hint of awe in her voice. She moved away from him.

"Yeah, the rate at which my wounds heal is rather impressive," he said offhandedly, putting on his shirt and coat.

"Well… I can't do anything since your wounds are healed," Mirajane pouted. It seemed she wanted to get away from her daily barmaid duties every now and then.

"Thanks, anyways, Mira. I'll clean myself up once I get Erza inside," said Draxnor, picking up Erza bridal-style again and making his way onto the guild.

**"Requip!"**

Erza shone in the familiar yellow light as she changed once again, surprising Draxnor slightly, who almost dropped her in the process. When she stopped glowing, she was wearing her hair tied back in a ponytail, a white sleeveless button up shirt that hugged her bountiful curves tightly, her navy blue skirt and black boots.

"Well, that's a lot more comfortable…" Draxnor commented, pushing the door open with his foot.

"You should be more careful with me… you almost dropped me back there," Erza reprimanded, ignoring Draxnor's last comment.

"Sure," he said, nodding.

"Well, look who it is! If it isn't the weakling Erza and the hotshot new guy!" a voice sneered from close by.

"Laxus…" Erza growled softly. Draxnor looked at her questioningly. "He's one of the S-Class Mages and also one of the competitors for Fairy Tail's Strongest Mage."

Laxus was sitting on a chair facing them with his feet on the table, looking at them with an arrogant smirk.

"So the boring fight is finally over… Tell me, new guy. Did you enjoy making Erza know her place?" he drawled.

Draxnor kept a straight face, but deep inside, he wanted to punch the guy's face in. He just met him and he already disliked him. He hated arrogant people… people who think they are better than everyone else just because they have power. And it seemed that _this guy_ was one of _them_. Draxnor had dealt with these kinds of people before, and the ending result was never good.

"So, Erza, do you see now? See how you're so weak?" he asked mockingly. Erza growled softly.

"I would keep my mouth shut, kid, unless you want me to punch your teeth in," Draxnor threatened, glaring at Laxus

"Kid? Who the hell do you think you're talking to? Feeling all high and mighty because you beat _that_ weakling? Trust me, she's nothing compared to me! I'm the strongest mage here in this guild of weaklings!" Laxus shouted.

"Excuse me, Erza," growled Draxnor softly, setting her down on a chair, his eyes closed.

"Draxnor, what are you doing?!" Erza shouted. Too late… he had already shot towards Laxus, lifted him up by his shirt and slammed him into a table, breaking it in half. Laxus inhaled slightly in surprise at the speed Draxnor showcased.

"What's going on here?!" shouted Master Makarov, as the guild members made their way in. Draxnor ignored the master as he still held Laxus.

Draxnor opened his eyes, shooting Laxus with a very malevolent glare that sent small shivers down his spine. Laxus backed his head away slightly, a small bead of sweat running down his face. He could swear he saw a tiny glint of red in Draxnor's brown eyes.

"Listen to me, little Dragon Slayer. It would be wise for you to keep your mouth shut about my comrades if you know what's best for you. Insult them one more time and I will make you eat your words very painfully," he threatened softly, venom dripping from every syllable he spoke. Laxus gritted his teeth in anger, glaring at Draxnor's bloody face.

"Draxnor, stop!" Erza commanded. With that, Draxnor released Laxus and straightened up, giving one last death glare at Laxus before walking towards her.

He looked over at the guild and saw everyone staring at him with awe and shock on their faces. Nobody did that to Laxus and got away with it… nobody. Yet he did… Draxnor continued to amaze the mages in Fairy Tail, and something told them that this was just the beginning.

"Tch, be grateful that I have a job to do, if not I would take you down from your little cloud right now," growled Laxus, fixing his coat and walking away from them towards the front door.

"Mark my words…" was all Draxnor said.

"Draxnor, please… that's enough," said Erza sternly, shakily standing up and placing a hand on his shoulder. Draxnor sighed deeply.

"Fine…"

"Thanks, though…" she said suddenly, giving him a small smile. He returned it.

"No problem. Want me to carry you to the infirmary?" he offered when she was about to take a small step.

"I'm fine now. It shouldn't be too bad, now should it?" Erza said.

"It shouldn't be. Around 20 minutes have passed since you drank the potion. Walking should be pretty much a breeze for you, although you will still feel a little pain, so be careful. Make sure you rest, Erza! We have a job to do!" Draxnor ordered her, pointing his index finger at her, almost sounding like a parent or an older sibling.

"W-W-We d-do?" she stuttered, totally confused.

"Yes, we do. Now rest," he said, dismissing their conversation as he turned to Master Makarov.

"What is it, my boy?" he asked, looking straight at him.

"First and foremost…" he began, pointing his palm at the broken table. **"Remendado!"**

The table he broke a few minutes ago when he threw Laxus down began to repair itself at a break neck pace. Before the guild members could register what was happening, the table was set and ready for use again.

"Impressive…" muttered Makarov softly.

"Second, I apologize for my rather rash actions against your grandson, Master. His rather arrogant antics and his insults of my comrades were getting on my nerves," continued Draxnor, closing his eyes.

"No need to worry, my boy. It's alright," Makarov accepted his apology, dismissing the subject with a wave of his hand. "Anything else?"

"Lastly, in which direction is Galuna Island?" he asked, making Master Makarov stare at him with interest.

"Why do you want to know that, my boy?" asked Makarov.

"Well, I was going to request your permission for Erza and I to go and retrieve Natsu, a guy named Gray, a girl named Lucy, and a flying cat named Happy," Draxnor replied. Makarov closed his eyes and sighed deeply, that particular _headache_ making its way back to his brain.

"Ah, so you heard about them stealing an S-Class Request, am I correct?" inquired Makarov. Draxnor nodded.

"Yes, Master. I heard it when Erza and I were fighting," replied Draxnor simply.

"Incredible… to have such a sense of hearing…" Makarov complimented. "You sure are very interesting, my boy. I would really like to see more of your abilities…"

"Trust me, Master. You will… but only in due time," Draxnor replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and get myself cleaned up. Then I'll tend to Erza. Oh, by the way… Mira, can I please have a bottle of tequila?"

He pulled out some money and handed it over to her.

"Sure!" she chirped happily, taking the money. "One tequila bottle coming right up!"

"Thank you, Mira," said Draxnor softly, giving her a thumbs up. He then turned and was about to leave the guild when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Cana looking up at him… rather seductively.

"Hey, hot stuff… you really showcased some awesome moves out there," she said, her voice just as seductive as her gaze.

"Thanks, Cana," replied Draxnor gratefully, smiling at her. She winked at him sultrily.

"Anytime," she replied, turning around and walking away, her bountiful hips swaying more than normal. Draxnor couldn't help but stare for a moment before biting his lip and turning away. Thankfully, an excuse to look away came up when Mirajane came up to him with his bottle of tequila.

"Here you go!" she said happily, handing him the bottle.

"Thanks, Mira," he said, opening it and taking a gulping down a good amount of it. "I'll be taking my leave now. Be back in a few…"

"Alright, bye, Draxnor!" called out Mira as she returned to her post in the bar.

"See you in a bit, my boy," called out Makarov, sitting in the bar, waiting for his drink.

And with that… he left.

…

Erza was under the covers of one of the beds in the infirmary, the one closest to the window… just staring at the ceiling. She thought about the match… how she gave it her all… and still lost. Draxnor was truly strong… a rare specimen of immense raw power. In her opinion, he was already S-Class level material, if not higher. She enjoyed the fight greatly, even if she lost. Even though it was a rather heavy blow to her pride as the strongest woman in Fairy Tail, she didn't go down without giving him a heck of a fight. And then he protected her pride when he attacked Laxus. True… pissing off Laxus was a rather stupid thing to do. If he struggled against her, Laxus would probably wipe the floor with him. But then, the look he gave Laxus… an evil, malevolent look… shook her slightly. Even Laxus was slightly intimidated, something she still could not believe. But, no matter… the point was, Draxnor proved to everyone that he was a total powerhouse, even though he was just a rookie member. Incredible things were going to be expected from him in the near future…

She then thought about Natsu, the crazy, idiotic, fun-loving pink-haired Dragon Slayer. She thought about the promise she had made him of staying unbeaten until he came and defeated her. She had broken that promise the moment Draxnor sank his **Oblivion Fist** into her gut. She felt anger at herself for being weak and not being able to keep a promise. She didn't know if she would be able to look at Natsu in the eyes again after her shameful performance. He would probably mock her for not being strong enough.

Shaking her head at the last few thoughts, Erza attempted to push them away. No… Natsu wouldn't do such a terrible thing. He was one of the most understanding people in the world. She knew that she could go and tell him whatever she wanted and he would not judge her… he would only listen. Yes… that was a lot more like him.

Smiling softly while closing her eyes, Erza allowed sleep to overcome her and give her the rest she deserved and needed…

…

* * *

_**Whew! Such an awesomely long chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed it! **_

_**I will not be updating this soon next time, though. The only reason I updated so soon was because I already had more than half of this chapter done, and I decided to finish it off then and there. So, sorry about that. **_

_**What do you think about the fight? Was it good? Did y'all enjoy it? Did I portray Erza's abilities well enough?**_

_**The upcoming chapter is... as you all know... Galuna Island! I have some little twists planned for this arc, so look forward to it.**_

_**For now... please review, review, review!**_

_**Until next time! Ciao!**_


	3. Galuna Island

_**Hey, everyone!**_

_**Back I am with another chapter of A Demon's Inner Angel! This chapter now holds the record of being the longest I've written yet... almost 14,000 words! Once again, the inspiration just kept me going, but the editing kinda killed my groove, hence the slightly longer wait.**_

_**Thanks to everyone for their great reviews. I have taken the comments of Draxnor being too OP into account, but rest assured... I have a reason for that!**_

_**Like always, please read and review! I really enjoy my readers' comments, feedback and suggestions (except flames) on my story.**_

_**Anyway, onto the story! **_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, its rights or any of its characters, spells, locations, etc. These belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima. I only own my OCs, my spells, etc. Any resemblance to anything or anyone, either living or dead, is purely coincidental. Also, this work is purely meant for non-profit entertainment.**

Hello " "= **Dialogue**

**Requip " "= Spells and Magical Item Names**

_What? ' ' = _**Thoughts**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Galuna Island**

About an hour and a half had passed after the unforgettable fight between Draxnor and Erza. During that span, Draxnor had returned from getting cleaned up, wearing a navy blue long sleeved button up shirt with intricate black designs running around it left opened at the top, black slacks similar to the ones he wore before leaving, and predominantly black dress shoes with blue designs on them. He wore what seemed to be the same trench coat as before, but this one had intricate blue designs instead of blood-red. All in all, Draxnor went from red to blue in less than two hours…

He was sitting on one of the stools in the bar, drinking his second bottle of tequila. He was leisurely chatting with Cana, who brought her enormous barrel of booze with her. Erza was still up in the infirmary, resting. After Draxnor returned from cleaning himself, the first thing he did was check up on Erza. When he opened the door to the infirmary, he saw her there, peacefully resting under the covers. Smiling slightly, he closed the door and went down to the bar.

Things seemed to have returned to normal after the big fight. There was chatting all over the place about numerous topics, from the fight to who was the bigger man, the latter being courtesy of Elfman. Master Makarov was on a stool, drinking his usual mugs of beer, chatting openly with Mirajane, who was laughing cheerily. A brawl broke out over Elfman's topic on who was the bigger man, eliciting laughs from everyone in the hall, including Draxnor and Cana, who were facing the other side before the fight broke out. However, all semblance of peace in Fairy Tail was broken when a young man rushed in through the front doors, breathing very heavily.

"M-Master M-Makarov! Something t-terrible h-has happened!" he shouted, panting as he made his way to the tiny master. The chatting died out almost instantly and everyone looked over at the man. He was a short, slender man with unkempt black hair that stuck out in some places. He wore a black long sleeve button up shirt with a white tie, black slacks and black shoes. He was sweating bullets and his eyes were wide with terror, as if he saw a demon or something of the sort.

"What is it, my boy?" Makarov asked seriously, sobering up at hearing the word terrible. "What happened?"

"Someone's been murdered in one of the alleys to the south of town!" he shouted. Time froze for an instant as the statement sunk into the brains of everyone in the guild.

"WHAT?!" shouted Makarov, shooting up to his feet. "Who was it?!"

"It was a young woman of about 20 years of age!" the man replied.

"How was she killed?! When was she killed?!" inquired Makarov, feeling anger rise. Nobody committed a murder in the streets of Magnolia and got away with it with him on the lookout… nobody.

"That's the thing, Master. The mayor requested _you_ specifically to investigate, since the cause of death seems to be of magical origin," he explained. "According to authorities, it happened last night."

"Well, what happened to the victim?" asked Makarov, walking up to the young man.

"All of her blood was taken out of her system. I mean all of it," he replied, shocking everyone. What he said next, though, made it worse, "At first we thought it was probably a creature like a vampire, but when the body was inspected by the authorities, there were no bite marks anywhere on the body. To make things worse, though, they did an internal scan of the body and they found that all internal organs had disappeared as well. The outer body was left intact, but the insides were completely wiped clean."

Everyone cringed horribly at this. Who could've done something as horrible as that to a human being? Simple… it wasn't a human who committed that murder… it was a full-blown monster… But even then, what monster is capable of doing such a thing? The only thing that crossed their minds that would do such an atrocity would be a demon…

"Sounds like a Life Drainer," spoke Makarov softly.

"What's a Life Drainer?" asked Mirajane suddenly, making everyone look at her and Master Makarov.

"It's a species of demon of the worst kind," answered Draxnor, surprising everyone. "It uses the kind of magic that gave the species its name… **Life Draining Magic**. It's a horrible kind of magic, used to drain helpless victims of all of their blood and increase the lifespan of the user…"

Mirajane placed her hands on her mouth as Draxnor trailed off and placed a finger on his chin thoughtfully, her eyes wide with horror. She never knew such a horrible kind of magic existed. _Nobody _knew, except Master Makarov and Draxnor, for what it seemed. How did Draxnor know, though? How did he know that such a kind of demon existed when nobody did?

"Um… if I may know… what does a Life Drainer look like?" asked the young man. Everyone looked at Draxnor intently, even Master Makarov.

"That's the thing… nobody knows. The only people who knew what a Life Drainerlooked like were all killed before they could give a description," replied Draxnor cryptically. Master Makarov nodded, having known that. "They were sly little bastards. They crept around cities in the middle of the night, preying on unsuspecting victims. Once they chose a target, you could consider them gone. But it's weird…"

"What is it? What's weird?" asked Cana, totally engrossed in the conversation.

"Life Drainerswere supposedly hunted to extinction by dragons hundreds of years ago for unspecified reasons. Well… that was what _that _dragon told me eight years ago," replied Draxnor, unconsciously touching the scar on his face.

"Yes… that's what I heard, too," Makarov said, scratching his chin, deep in thought. "Usage of **Life Draining Magic**, and murders committed with it,suddenly dropped exponentially hundreds of years ago, leading everyone to think that the Life Drainershad been extinguished."

"And not to mention… **Life Draining Magic** only deals with the blood, not the internal organs. It either must've been an improved version of the magic, or a whole new one," Draxnor pointed out. "We are not completely sure that this could've been a Life Drainer."

"You're right, my boy. But what could it be?" asked Makarov, deep in thought. Draxnor closed his eyes, thinking hard.

"I don't know…" replied Draxnor truthfully. "The only creatures capable of doing such things would be demons, that's for sure. But the difficult thing would be finding out the exact species…"

He trailed off again, thinking deeply once more.

"How do you know so much about demons, Draxnor?" asked Cana and Mirajane in unison, interrupting Draxnor's train of thought. Blinking for a few seconds, Draxnor sighed and smiled.

"I did a fair share of demon hunting back in the old days," replied Draxnor nonchalantly, as if hunting some of the darkest beings in existence was nothing but child's play. Everyone stared at him with eyes wide with shock and surprise at the new development.

"In fact," he continued, pointing to the elaborate scar on his face. "It was a demon who gave me this scar."

"Wow…" Cana breathed softly in awe.

"Man, Draxnor keeps sounding more and more like a badass every time he talks…"

"He's a REAL MAN, that's why!"

"You'll never learn, Elfman…"

"Draxnor, you truly are one of a kind…" commented Mirajane, smiling at him.

"What's the entire ruckus about?" asked a stern voice from above them. Everyone cringed and felt shivers run down their spine, except Draxnor, Mirajane and Master Makarov. Oh, they knew that voice anywhere they went. That fierce tone was just unmistakable. It was none other than their Titania Erza, who seemingly just woke up, or was _woken _up, from her rest. She walked down the stairs to the left of Draxnor, now wearing her Heart Kreuz armor over her normal clothes.

"I was trying to rest, you know!" Erza reprimanded, making most of the guild members cower under her harsh glare.

"I may be a real man, but Erza is too much…"

"S-S-Scary…"

"Aw, man… I'm scared now…"

"Well, I'll be right back, brats. I'm going to go investigate this murder scene," Makarov announced, walking over to the young man.

"MURDER?!" Erza shrieked, eyes widening. "WHERE? WHO? WHEN?!"

"Erza, calm down…" Makarov spoke. "There was a murder in the southern part of the city. Investigators said that it happened last night, and there was a young lady involved."

"I see…" Erza said, trying to collect herself. "Well, let's go, then!"

"No, Erza. I'll take this one alone. The mayor requested me specifically. You have a job to do," Makarov replied, trying to get her to not go.

"Eh? Oh, yeah, Draxnor told me about it. What's the job, master?" she asked. Draxnor looked at her, taking another gulp of his bottle of tequila while he leaned back on the counter.

"Let him fill you in on the details," Makarov replied, gesturing towards Draxnor. "You're going to Galuna Island to retrieve something for me, or should I say… _someone_."

"Really? Who?" she inquired further, confused.

"We're going to get Natsu, Happy, Lucy and Gray back. Apparently Natsu stole an S-Class Request from the second floor and Master Makarov is asking us to go retrieve them and bring them here for punishment," replied Draxnor, standing up and bidding farewell to Cana, who most seductively reciprocated.

However, Erza didn't budge an inch. Her scarlet hair overshadowed her eyes; therefore, nobody could see the emotions flowing through them. Suddenly, though, she looked up, anger clearly etched on her beautiful features. She clenched both of her fists.

"That… that… that… IDIOT!" she screamed, an eerily threatening aura emanating from her that shook even Draxnor. "I'm going to kick his ass once I get my hands on him!"

'_Natsu will not like this…'_ thought Draxnor amusedly.

"Draxnor… let's go!" she commanded, grabbing his shirt and literally dragging him to the front doors of the guild.

"Whoa, whoa, hold your horses, Erza," he said loudly, prompting her to release him and glare at him. "Well, someone's healed up and ready for battle."

"Draxnor, quit screwing around! We have to go get that pink-haired idiot and everyone else before they get themselves killed!" she replied harshly.

"Erza, I know. Just wait a second, I forgot something important," he said, walking over to the bar. "Mira, can I have another bottle of tequila please?"

Everyone fell down to the floor at hearing what Draxnor's "important" something was. He really was assimilating into Fairy Tail's odd antics… so much, in fact, that he had just begun to pull out some of his own. Erza stared at him, her jaw dropped. Mirajane just accepted his request cheerily and went back for another bottle. Cana only stared at him, laughing softly. However, everyone instantly cowered at the horrifying aura of a fuming Erza.

"Draxnor…" she whispered softly with a very menacing tone. He flinched slightly.

'_She's mad now,' _thought Draxnor.

She was suddenly behind him and bonked him on the head with her gauntlet. Draxnor grunted softly in pain as he grabbed his bottle before being dragged away by Erza, who was muttering something he could not discern.

"We'll be taking our leave now, Master. See you later!" Draxnor called out. Master Makarov waved goodbye.

"Well… that escalated quickly," muttered Master Makarov, watching them intently as they left the guild.

"Bye, Erza! Bye, Draxnor! Take care, and please bring Natsu back to me safely!" Mirajane shouted, waving goodbye to them.

"Mira, my dear. I'll be leaving as well to investigate the murder scene. Please take care of the guild for me," announced Master Makarov.

"Of course Master!" Mira replied happily. She then gave her signature creepy smile. "I'll make sure everything is okay until you return. Right, guys?"

Everyone paled at her smile. Oh, nobody wanted to see Mirajane mad… not now, not ever. She was just as bad as Erza, even without using her powers. They fervently nodded and returned to their activities. Master Makarov laughed and nodded, turning towards the young man.

"Lead the way, my boy."

"Right away, Master Makarov," replied the young man, bowing.

With that, they left, leaving a rather flustered guild hall behind.

"S-S-Scary…"

…

"Bye, Erza! Bye, Draxnor! Take care, and please bring Natsu back to me safely!" Mirajane shouted after them as they left the guild hall, with Erza still dragging Draxnor. She was growling softly, probably due to Mirajane's comment of bringing Natsu back to _her_.

'_Jealous much?'_ thought Draxnor, smiling slightly. _'Natsu is really lucky to have these two women devoted to him… just like _he_ predicted.' _

"Um, Erza… I can walk you know," Draxnor spoke up. Erza stopped suddenly and released him.

"Sorry about that," she apologized. "Hit me."

"Uh… no. No need to worry," he said, fixing up his shirt. "Now, where are we going?"

"Were going to Magnolia Station and catch a train to Hargeon Town not too far south from here. From there, we'll try to get someone to sail us into Galuna Island," Erza replied. "Although I doubt somebody will…"

"Why is that?" asked Draxnor.

"The island, according to some people, is cursed. Those who get exposed to the curse get turned into monsters, or something along those lines," Erza explained.

"Ah," was all Draxnor replied as he took a gulp of his tequila.

"You sure like to drink tequila, don't you…" she commented.

"Well, ever since… since _that _happened I became an alcoholic," Draxnor muttered, closing his eyes.

"What happened?" asked Erza, genuinely curious.

"I don't want to talk about it… not yet," he replied, looking… hurt and saddened. Whatever happened to him must've left him deeply scarred. Erza was honestly a little curious about it, having suffered something in her past that left her deeply scarred, and she wanted to know, but she didn't press any further. She didn't want to tread into personal territory and possibly get Draxnor more upset than he seemingly was already.

In silence they walked through the rather packed streets of the merchant town, listening to the ruckus people made as they continued their daily lives. Draxnor studied the Medieval-like buildings pushed close together in what seemed to be an attempt at a symmetrical town. And, he had to admit, they actually did pretty good.

"Erza…" he spoke softly, ending the five minute long silence between them.

"What's up?" she asked, not looking at him. She seemed to be staring intently at a bakery that they had just passed, apparently looking at the cheesecakes.

"Where is the train station?" he asked, stopping dead in his tracks when he noticed that Erza had lingered behind in front of the bakery.

"Oh, it's to the southeast of where we are," she replied, still staring at the cheesecakes… almost drooling.

"Do you… want a cheesecake?" he asked, slightly bemused. He then remembered something _particular_ and he smirked.

"Yeah," she responded, nodding furiously, as if she were a little kid waiting for her parent to buy her what she wanted.

"I can buy it for you…" he offered, giving her a rather mischievous smirk.

"You would?" she asked, looking at him, her eyes glowing.

"Oh, yeah. I'll buy it for you… Consider it as a token of friendship," he replied, barely containing his laughter. Oh, he was going to enjoy this. Also, it seemed that Erza had forgotten about the "bad" aftertaste his _horrendous_ concoction left.

"Alright! Let's go!" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside the bakery. A bell rang when they opened the door. It was a small place, with yellow wooden walls, with a refrigerated glass counter besides the door holding in a wide assortment of cheesecakes. However, the one at the top looked the tastiest… a strawberry cheesecake.

"Welcome to Fairy Cheesecakes!" called out one of the bakers.

"Hello," Draxnor called back. Erza was already at the glass counter, ogling at the cheesecakes.

"Would you like to try our newest cheesecake?" he asked Erza, noticing her glowing look while she stared at other cheesecakes. He had the delicious-looking strawberry cheesecake in his hands.

"Um, I don't know…" she replied, inspecting it closely.

"Erza, I think we should hurry. We don't want to waste a lot of time, since Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Gray's lives might be on the line as we speak," Draxnor warned. Erza hastily abandoned her glowing look, adopting her usual stoic expression.

"Right… I'll take the new one, then," she stated, pointing at the cheesecake in the baker's hands..

"Alright, ma'am, it'll be 250 Jewels per slice… or do you want the entire thing?" the employee asked.

"I'll take just one slice. I have a job to do," she replied seriously. Wow, she was actually restraining herself on her favorite snack. "Make that four…" Forget it…

"Alright, that'll be 1000 Jewels," the man said, placing her four slices of cheesecake into containers and handing them to her along with a plastic fork.

"Here…" said Draxnor, handing the man two 1000 Jewel bills. "Keep the change, bud."

"Well, thank you, sir. You are most kind," the employee complimented, bowing his head.

"Yea, no problem," Draxnor said offhandedly, waving his hand as he approached the door, closely followed by Erza.

"Oh by the way, did you hear about the murder that occurred last night to the south of town?" asked the man casually, stopping Draxnor dead in his tracks. Erza gave him a fleeting glance before focusing her full attention on the cheesecakes and exiting the store.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Draxnor, turning around to meet the man's eye. Erza seemed too focused on her cheesecake to notice that she was alone outside.

"Apparently, someone witnessed it…" the man spoke. Draxnor's eyes widened considerably. In a flash, he was at the counter, slamming both of his clenched fists on the counter and glaring at the man.

"Who saw it? What did they see?" he demanded. The man backed away slightly, waving his hands frantically.

"I don't know who saw it, but whoever _did_ only mentioned the girl running away from a pair of floating, shining blood-red eyes," replied the man. Draxnor clenched his teeth and looked away from him, deep in thought.

"Anything else?" he asked, not looking at the man. He shook his head.

"I see…" Draxnor muttered, nodding slightly. "Good day to you…"

"Goodbye, sir," replied the man. As Draxnor walked out of the shop, he noticed Erza was already outside, looking at him suspiciously.

"Well?" she prompted.

"Well… what?" he asked, seemingly confused.

"What did the baker say?" she asked.

"Oh… All he said was that there was someone who witnessed the crime, that's all," Draxnor replied. When Erza was about to open her mouth to continue asking, he added, "He doesn't know who witnessed it, though. He said it was a rumor…"

"I see… well, let's go. We have to retrieve _those _idiots and punish them," she growled, walking in a brisk pace towards the station, with Draxnor following closely.

"I would eat those cheesecakes quickly when we are at the station… you might _scream _in delight because of how tasty they are," he warned with a sly smile on his face that she didn't seem to detect.

"Really? Have you had this cheesecake before?" asked Erza, looking at him intently.

"No… I'm just saying. Anyway, let's get to the station."

"Right…"

…

"Natsu… how are we ever going to destroy the moon?" asked a rather beautiful teenage girl to a pink haired boy of similar age as they were walking down a dense, lush pathway in the middle of a forest in Galuna Island. She had shoulder length blonde hair with one small ponytail tied by a pink ribbon on the right side of her head and two bangs framing her beautiful face, the rest of it hanging loose, and large, soft brown eyes. She wore a light green tank top that hugged her slim waist tightly and showed a good amount of her very impressive breasts, and a short, pleated white skirt that somewhat covered her ample hips, which completed her nigh perfect hourglass figure. She had a somewhat wide brown belt slanted around her hips, where she held a long brown whip with a heart shaped end on her left and a keychain with an assortment of golden and silver keys. She also had brown, long, high-heeled boots, as well as Fairy Tail's guild mark on the back of her right hand.

"I'll burn it with my fire, of course!" Natsu exclaimed, bumping his fists together while smiling widely, showcasing his sharper-than-normal canines. He was taller than the girl, lean, and very muscular, with spiky pink air and black eyes. He wore a white scale-patterned scarf wrapped snugly around his neck, a sleeveless, gold trimmed, black waistcoat left open, revealing his very toned chest and abdomen and his red guild mark just below his right shoulder. Along with that, he wore knee-length white trousers with black open-toed sandals and a thick black wristband on his left wrist.

"Aye, sir!" yelled his small blue flying cat companion, Happy, who was hovering right beside him, his small angelic wings spread wide.

"Natsu, they'll never reach _that_ far! Geez, at this rate, I'll never get the key…" the girl complained, pouting.

"Lucy's right, stupid pink matchstick," said another young man that was accompanying them. He was slightly taller than Natsu, and just as lean and muscular, with spiky black hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing nothing over his upper body, leaving it completely exposed along with the dark blue guild mark on his right pectoral. He had a necklace resembling a sword in a stone hanging around his neck, a metal bracelet, dark blue pants with black shoes, a brown belt and a metal chain hanging from two of his belt loopholes. "Your flames will never reach. Besides, you'll never be able to destroy the moon. You're too weak."

"Did you say something, little popsicle?" retorted Natsu, glaring at him. Both of them glared at each other, taking mirrored positions, with their arms crossed and their foreheads nearly pressing.

"Yeah, I said that you're too weak!" the black-haired young man replied. "Are you deaf?"

"Wanna see for yourself?" asked Natsu, smirking through his glare.

"Gray, Natsu, stop screwing around! We have a job to do!" yelled Lucy, scowling at them, trying futilely to stop them from brawling in the middle of the forest. "If you don't stop, I'm telling Erza!"

Jackpot… that seemed to capture their attention, for they froze and turned to look at her, their eyes wide and faces pale in fear.

"Y-You wouldn't…" spoke Natsu shakily. Happy cowered behind him.

"Oh, yes I would…" she retorted, smiling devilishly. Oh, how she loved it when at the mere mention of Erza's name, both Natsu and Gray would cower at her feet, begging her not to tell. She wrote a mental note to thank her later.

"Now… about the job…" continued Lucy.

"Yeah! Let's go!" shouted Natsu, recovering very quickly from his petrified state.

"Tch, yeah sure, let's go," said Gray along with Natsu, looking at Lucy with just his boxers on.

"KYAAA! Gray, your clothes!" screamed Lucy, pointing at his nigh naked form.

"WHAT THE HELL! Where are they?!" shouted Gray as he frantically tried to search for his clothes as Natsu and Happy were bawling in laughter.

"Shut up, little fire lizard!" growled Gray, prompting Natsu to stop and stare at him.

"What did you say, ice pervert?" asked Natsu mockingly, earning an angry glare from Gray.

"Erza, Erza, Erza…" chanted Lucy nonchalantly, making them pale and look at her once again in fear.

"Don't tell her, please," they both begged in unison, Gray somehow having found his clothes and putting them on before this.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe if you were to stop screwing around!" shouted Lucy. However, it didn't have the effect she desired on Natsu, for he suddenly turned serious.

"But wait, wouldn't she be mad at you too?" asked Natsu thoughtfully, placing his right hand on his chin.

"Why is that?" she challenged.

"Well, you're with us on a quest that we're not supposed to take in the first place…" he pointed out. Now it was Lucy's turn to pale. She fell to her knees.

"Oh, God! Why me? No key is worth Erza's wrath!" she wept comically.

"Whatever, don't worry about it," reassured Natsu. "Let's find a way to help these people without having to destroy the moon."

"Aye, sir!" shouted Happy, floating behind him, just having gotten over his cowardly moment.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go," agreed Lucy, instantly perking up.

For a few minutes they traveled through the dense forest in rare silence, looking in different directions at the same time, so as to not miss any possible thing in their limited line of sight. They were starting to enjoy the silence until they were interrupted when something massive crashed in front of them, picking up a large amount of dust and scaring everyone in the process.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" shouted Lucy fearfully, pointing at the dust cloud shakily.

"Dunno…" replied Natsu simply. When the dust cloud cleared, Lucy screamed in shock. In front of them stood what seemed to be a giant turquoise furred rat wearing a black corset-style top with pink edges with a black cross-section lacing in the middle. She also wore a white lace headband with a red ribbon tied on her chest.

"AAAACK! A freaky monster!" screamed Happy in fear, hiding behind Natsu's back.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?" shrieked Lucy, cowering behind Gray.

"That thing looks like a rat…" replied Gray, clenching his teeth slightly while glaring at the rat. "And from the clothes it's wearing, it's safe to say that it's a girl…"

"That's one ugly-looking rat," commented Natsu, unfazed. This seemed to anger the animal as it crouched, flashing its large teeth. However, instead of pouncing at them like they expected, it began to release what seemed to be a large held breath. Instantly, Natsu covered his mouth and his nose. He seemed to be about to throw up. Moments later, Lucy, Gray, and Happy joined him, although they were not as affected as Natsu.

"It smells horrible!" coughed Lucy. Natsu had already fallen to the ground, his face green.

"I'm about to puke… this is so horrible!" wheezed Natsu. The rat stopped breathing and charged at the group.

"Holy crap! It's coming at us!" shouted Lucy. Gray jumped in front of them and slammed his right fist on top of his open left palm.

"**Ice Make: Floor!"**

Ice began to appear on Gray's hands before he brought them to the floor. Instantly, the floor began to freeze, all of it heading towards the rat. The moment the rat stepped on the icy ground, it slipped and skidded towards the group. Before it hit them, it was stopped by Natsu, who somehow recovered at an amazing speed from his nauseous state. He was glaring at the rat.

"Stupid rat!" he shouted angrily before slamming his fist into the rat.

"Damn rodent!" shouted Gray soon after, kicking the rat.

Together they beat the rat into oblivion as Lucy and Happy stared at the scene with a bemused expression, sweat dropping.

"Ummm, guys… I think that's enough…" said Lucy, smiling nervously when they showed no signs of stopping.

"Well… I… don't… think… so…" countered Natsu, timing his words with every punch.

"Yeah… Lucy… flame… brain… is… right…" agreed Gray, also timing his words with his kicks.

"That's enough!" shouted Lucy, surprising the male wizards slightly, actually causing them to stop. "Oh, wow. I didn't know you were actually going to listen to me. I thought for a moment that I was going to have to resort to telling Erza…"

At their visibly paled expressions, Lucy giggled softly and evilly.

"Well, whatever. Let's keep going. I have a feeling that we're getting close to finding something big," said Natsu, recovering first and patting dust off his outfit.

How right he was. Just after he said that and after walking for a few moments, they stumbled across a clearing with a very large, yellowish pyramid-like temple. It was obviously very old, with most of its outside walls overtaken with green overgrowth from the surrounding areas, and some major discoloration in the uncovered sections.

Walking up the stone steps that led to the entrance, the group couldn't help but notice the crescent-moon symbol emblazoned on the wall right above the entrance and on two pillars not so far away from it.

"Hey… doesn't that symbol look a lot like Chief Moka's staff?" asked Lucy to no one in particular.

"You're right. It does look like that geezer's staff," replied Natsu. "But who cares! Let's go inside already!"

"Wait, Natsu!" shouted Lucy. "This could be a trap!"

Too late… Natsu had already barged in. Lucy face palmed as Happy rushed in with him just as excitedly, while Gray just shook his head, muttering "stupid pyro" in the process.

"I heard that, ice princess!" shouted Natsu from inside, angering Gray.

"Oh, yeah! Like I give a damn, pinky!" Gray shouted back, running inside the temple.

"Ugh, why do they fight so much!" whined Lucy, before following Gray.

The inside of the temple had succumbed to age just as much as the outside, with foliage growing on the walls and large cracks adorning them as well, some of them allowing sunlight to permeate the otherwise impenetrable temple. Even the floor seemed to be weakened as small cracks littered across it with a few of the stones sunken.

"It looks like the floor could collapse any minute, doesn't it?" asked Lucy to no one in particular once again.

"Really?" said Natsu, excitedly stomping on the floor next to a large boulder.

"Natsu, what the hell are you doing?!" cried Lucy shrilly, reaching over to him to somehow make him stop.

Once again… too late. By the time Lucy reached Natsu, most of the floor had begun cracking and collapsing. Screaming their brains out, the group fell into the dark abyss, except Happy, who managed to bring out his wings just in the nick of time.

They all suffered a harsh landing over the debris from the collapsed floor. Gingerly getting up, Natsu looked around. It was very dark, except for the light that shined from above them. From that light, he could discern a silhouette of a cavern's mouth. Lighting his fist on fire, Natsu began walking towards the opening.

"Damn it, pinky. Why the hell did you do that?! We could've died!" shouted Gray, but was ignored by the pink-haired Dragon Slayer. A strangled moan was heard from the rubble not far away from them.

"Is everyone okay…?" rang Lucy's voice, and it sounded pained.

"Yeah, we're fine, Lucy. Well… I'm fine, I don't know about ice pervert over here…" Natsu replied, walking towards Lucy's voice.

"HEY!"

"How about you?" continued Natsu, ignoring Gray once again. He needed to keep her talking, so he could locate her much faster throughout the still airborne dust that prevented him from smelling her out.

"I'm a little hurt, but it shouldn't be anything too serious," Lucy's voice answered, sounding less pained than before. She stood up, removing some of the rubble that had fallen on her and dusting her clothes off.

"Ah! There you are!" said Natsu, walking towards her with his fiery fist pointed towards her. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I should be able to. I'm surprised, though. After a fall from that height, I should be crippled," answered Lucy, looking up at the large hole Natsu caused. "What could've protected us?"

"Who cares? I found an opening to a cave over there!" Natsu stated, pointing excitedly at the cave's mouth.

"Where are we, anyway?" asked Gray.

"We're under the temple, ice queen. That's obvious…" Natsu deadpanned.

"I don't remember asking you, stupid pyro!" Gray retorted.

"That doesn't matter right now! We need to find a way out of here!" Lucy shouted over them.

"NATSU! GRAY! LUCY!" shouted a squeaky voice. Everyone looked up to see Happy nose-diving towards Natsu's chest, large tears flowing out of his eyes.

"Happy! There you are, buddy!" Natsu shouted back, spreading his arms wide just before the little flying cat slammed into his chest and gripped his waistcoat tightly, sobbing loudly.

"I'm s-s-so glad y-y-you are s-s-safe!" Happy sobbed, shaking. He managed to stop shaking before continuing, "If it weren't for Lucy's weight, none of this would've happened!"

"I'M NOT THAT HEAVY, YOU STUPID CAT!" Lucy shrieked, her face red. "IT WAS ALL NATSU'S FAULT!"

"That doesn't matter, Happy. All that matters is that we're okay," Natsu reassured, tightening his hold on the little cat. "Let's explore this place. There's an opening over there."

Walking towards the cavern's mouth with Happy perched on his shoulder, Natsu gestured for Lucy and Gray to follow him without turning.

As they walked down the narrow cavern with Natsu leading, they took notice of the humidity and the overwhelming darkness of the environment, giving it a rather eerie feeling.

"Is it me, or is this cave getting colder?" asked Lucy shakily, rubbing her arms vigorously to try and generate a bit more heat.

"No, it's not you, Lucy. It is getting colder," Natsu replied. "I don't think ice princess over here can feel it, though."

"What you say, flame brain?" retorted Gray.

"Quit it, you two…" Lucy snapped.

"Hey, look! There's an opening!" Natsu called, ignoring Lucy.

And he was right. There was an opening to a chamber in the cave, and it seemed larger than the first opening. When they got near it, they marveled at how big the chamber was becoming. However, another, far more terrifying discovery was awaiting them.

When they entered the chamber, they saw an enormous block of ice, as tall as the cave's ceiling, which was about 40 meters tall, perched at the end of it.

"Is that… _ice_?" Lucy asked amazedly. "B-B-But… how?"

"That's not the problem right now, Lucy… What's _inside_ the ice is the problem," stated Natsu, capturing Gray's full attention along with Lucy and Happy.

"I-Inside? What do you mean?" she inquired, confused. Natsu pointed at a spot near the top of the block.

"Look," was all he said as he walked forward and saw a pond near them. Dipping his unlit hand into the water, he took notice of the lower than normal temperatures and deduced that the water came from the ice.

Gray, Lucy and Happy did as Natsu told them and looked at where he pointed. All of their eyes went as wide as they could go. Two of them were of shock and fear… the other one… was rage… unadulterated, unrestrained rage.

"Why?" Gray managed to growl through his tightly gritted teeth, taking a few, shaky steps forward with his fists balled tightly. "WHY IS HE HERE?!"

"Gray?"

Gray ignored Lucy, still walking forward, his eyes full of anger, hate, sorrow and grief. Tears began to form in his eyes as he fell to his knees and stared at the unholy thing in front of him… the thing that caused him so much pain when he was younger… the Demon of Destruction…

"_Deliora_…"

…

Draxnor had warned Erza… he had told her to eat her cheesecake slices quickly, for she faced certain risks… but she didn't pay heed to his warnings. She ate the slices slowly, attempting to enjoy every little piece of it that graced the confines beyond her lips.

The end result?

Erza screaming in delight throughout most of their train journey from Magnolia to Hargeon, earning some rather inquisitive stares from other passengers who were unfortunate enough to sit in the same car as them, forced to hear Erza's show… which Draxnor found slightly annoying. He was starting to regret not telling her that the potion did not in fact leave a bad aftertaste. Maybe he should've told her the truth straight out… but where was the fun in that? A little lie wouldn't hurt, after all… At first, it did provide some refreshing amusement, especially with the fact that Fairy Tail's "Titania" Erza was screaming like an actual girl over slices of cheesecake… but as the train ride went on, it did start to wear on his patience.

It was a good thing they were over that now, for they were on a pirate ship headed to Galuna Island. It took them more than a few hours to find them, though. She was right… nobody wanted to take them there for fear of being cursed. According to people, the curse made you lose your humanity and become a bloodthirsty monster. While at some point it did seem credible, Draxnor knew otherwise. He also managed to catch a rumor about a purple moon appearing at night over the island. But that was all that it was… a rumor… a rumor that _he_ spread over three years ago along with the curse's rumor. He knew _exactly_ what was going on in Galuna Island… but nobody needed to know _that_.

How did they convince the pirates to bring them over? Simple… she threatened to castrate them after she had caught them checking her out, albeit carefully due to the fact that Draxnor was with her. She sounded so serious that the pirates literally cowered and kneeled before her, promising that they would take wherever she wanted, even to the ends of the earth if she ever had to. It made Draxnor cringe considerably, earning an amused smirk from her.

Yup, the trip seemed to be going rather smoothly. The pirates treated them like royalty, giving them whatever they wanted, bowing shortly afterwards before scurrying away to do their respective duties. The captain of the ship even gave up his quarters to the both of them, though Draxnor decided to stay outside and let Erza have the room so she could rest. After all, while she was able to walk 20 minutes after drinking the potion, it did not mean that she was fully healed or at full magic power.

Draxnor knocked on the black door that led to the captain's quarters. The black ship wasn't the largest he had seen. It was more of a caravel, with two masts: the frontal and the larger central one. Both of these had large, black sails with a standard-looking jolly roger drawn on the main sail. Just above the main mast was a small crow's nest. The most prominent feature of the ship was a very large and pointy figurehead that looked like a snout with long rows of sharp teeth-like protrusions.

"Who is it?" asked Erza from the other side, and she sounded slightly annoyed.

"It's Draxnor…" Draxnor replied. "Am I interrupting?"

"No… you can come in," she answered. Draxnor opened the door and saw Erza sitting on the captain's chair, with her feet on the desk in front of her. The captain's room was rather small, with only one small window behind the desk, the brown wooden walls decorated with what seemed to be the loot of some of their past raids on other cities.

"Is there something you need?" she asked, looking at him sternly while standing up.

"How far are we?" Draxnor asked.

"We shouldn't be too far, now. We've been traveling for a few hours already, and night is starting to fall upon us," she replied, walking outside the cabin.

"Not good… I sense trouble…" Draxnor stated, earning an interested look from her.

"Really? What kind of trouble?" she asked.

"I sense a large amount of magical energy being released in that direction," he said, pointing to the sea in front of them, where the white full moon was beautifully perched in the starry night sky. "Can you feel it?"

Turning to the direction Draxnor pointed, Erza nodded.

"Yes… I do. By any chance, do you know what's releasing all the magical energy?" she asked.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "But whatever, or whoever, _is_ releasing the energy is a threat."

"Damn it… what do we do?" she inquired, clenching her teeth.

"How far are we from the island?" he asked simply.

"I really don't know," replied Erza truthfully. "I would say another hour at this speed."

"Not good enough…" stated Draxnor simply. "We have to get there now and find out what's going on. Natsu, Happy, Lucy and Gray could be in danger or already dead for all we know…"

"Don't you ever say that again!" reprimanded Erza sternly, a slightly panicked expression invading her beautiful features. For what it seemed, the thought of losing Natsu or her comrades had never entered her mind.

"Sorry about that," replied Draxnor, bowing slightly. "I guess I have no choice… None of your armors allow you to fly for extended periods of time, right?"

When she shook her head, Draxnor sighed.

"Well, that is to be expected… I guess I have to use _that_ spell…"

"What spell?" she asked curiously.

"You'll see… now please, step back," he ordered politely to everyone, including Erza. The pirates that were watching them intently nodded fervently and did as they were told. Erza did so as well, albeit slightly reluctantly. She had witnessed Draxnor's destructive power. If he asked them to step back, something great was about to take place.

After everyone had stepped away from Draxnor, he gripped the left side of his trench coat with his right hand and yanked it off, flames enveloping him in the process. Gasps and cries of shock could be heard amongst the crew, while Erza only stared intently. When the flames cleared, he stood there, his trench coat and shirt gone. He then crouched, crossing his forearms in front of his chest, reminiscent of when he powered up during the battle. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"Here goes…"

Time seemed to slow slightly as the crew, including Erza, watched him with bated breath. She inhaled sharply when she felt his energy spike up almost violently.

"Draxnor, what are you doing?"

"**Six Winged King: Wings of the Fallen Angel!"**

Draxnor unleashed a fierce roar of war and pain as six considerably sized bulges appeared on his upper back, on top of where his scapula was supposed to be. Everyone watched… some in horror and some in awe, as the bulges began to grow in size, causing a small amount of blood to flow out.

"Draxnor, what the hell are you doing?!" shouted Erza with concern. He ignored her concerned call as six blood-red spikes began to poke out of his back. She cried in shock as she saw six long, pitch black streamer-like wings with blood-red spikes at the end burst out of his back. His eyes widened considerably, and he growled in pain as the six wings flexed and pointed towards the astounded Erza and the horrified pirate crew. The wings were in pairs: the upper, the middle, and the bottom.

However, the wings began to morph, melding together to form large devil wings, with two spikes pointing down and one pointing away from him, that spread out majestically, almost invisible in the moonlit night.

"Damn… I didn't expect this to hurt so much…" muttered Draxnor, flapping his wings slowly, testing them out, feeling the blood trickling down his back.

"I can't believe it…" was all Erza could say. "Where did you develop such magic?"

"I developed it a few years ago. This spell allows me to actually fly. During our battle, you saw me float, but I can't fly without these. I haven't used these in a long time, hence the pain," Draxnor explained. He walked towards her. "But enough explanations, we must get to the island now."

"Are you sure you can fly with me? Wouldn't it be too much for you?" inquired Erza.

"Unless you have any better ideas of getting there fast, then whether it is too much or not does not matter…" Draxnor stated, turning towards the captain, a short, chubby man with a long brown beard. "Captain Newgate…"

"Yargh, what you need, master Draxnor?" Newgate piped up, rushing over to him and bowing.

"First, I assure you that there is no curse near the island, so you shouldn't worry about anything of the sort," stated Draxnor, earning a nod from the short captain and his crew and a rather suspicious and interested look from Erza. "Second, I want you to stay near the island for when we are done. We will send this…" he raised his palm and fired a red beam into the sky. "… as a calling signal for you to come pick us up. Understand?"

"Yargh, aye, sir! We will be watching closely!" Newgate shouted, saluting. "Ye heard, ye dirty mongrels! Watch the sky for any sign of Master Draxnor's beam!"

"AYE, CAP'N!" shouted the crew, saluting their captain in unison.

"Don't get too close to the island, though. I have a feeling that it's going to get ugly," warned Draxnor. The captain nodded as Erza narrowed her eyes.

"Good… Let's go, Erza," he continued. "We have little time…"

"Right," she replied, walking towards him, and then turning away from him, raising her arms in the process. He, knowing what she meant, grabbed her waist securely. She gripped his hands.

"Hold on tight," he muttered, crouching slightly, his wingspan spreading fully before shooting into the air. A small cry of surprise left her lips as they sped through the night, headed for Galuna Island at speeds equal, if not superior to her **Flight Armor**. She turned around to try to see how Draxnor was doing, and her eyes widened slightly, for he was wincing in pain. Noticing her increasingly worried expression, he smiled reassuringly.

"There's no need to worry!" he shouted over the wind, his wings flapping strongly through his pain. "It's not as bad as it may seem. Besides, the life of everyone on the island matters more than my back pain."

Erza nodded slowly in understanding and steeled her expression, readying herself for any potential dangers she might face to get Natsu out of there safely.

"We're almost there," called out Draxnor, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked forward to see that he was right… the island was not so far away. Only a few minutes have passed since they left the ship. How fast was he?

"I sense trouble up ahead in the forest," he called out, gesturing towards the lush jungle close to the shore.

"I sense it, too," she stated. "Can you take us closer?"

"Sure thing," he replied. "I'm going to drop you off first at the site of the trouble, and then I will take the sky for a few seconds to survey the island. Sound good?"

Erza nodded, requipping a pair of short swords. They were already above the shore, flying directly at the designated location.

"On three…" instructed Draxnor, earning another nod. "Three… two… one… Go!"

Erza felt Draxnor release her waist from his firm grip and she began to descend very rapidly. Her eyes widened slightly. She did not expect _this_ kind of drop off. She actually expected him to land, leave her there, and then fly off. But, oh well…

"**Requip!"**

Knowing the impact was going to be rather harsh at the speed she was traveling, she requipped into her **Black Wing Armor** and slowed down drastically before she passed the tree canopy into a small clearing near the shore. As she landed, she skidded across the ground, picking up dust and debris before slowing into a complete halt. Looking up, she saw Draxnor flap his way into the sky. Erza suddenly heard a small, very familiar gasp.

"E-E-Erza?!" the voice squeaked. Erza turned around to see Lucy, on the ground, covered in dirt, with her shirt torn off, leaving her voluptuous chest covered only by a pink bra. Her brown eyes were wide with shock and fear. Erza's first reaction was of concern, until she remembered why she came in the first place, and it was replaced by a very furious look.

"Lucy…" she seethed softly, making Lucy squeak again in fear.

"Lucy, where are you?!" squeaked another very familiar voice… Natsu's cat companion, Happy. The little flying cat flew from one of the trees a few feet away from them. Instantly, he noticed Erza's furious glower and cowered behind Lucy.

"ERZA?!" he screamed. "WHAT ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE?!"

"I'm here to take you back…" she growled, an angry smirk taking over her beautiful features. "You have broken a very important rule… The punishment will be severe. But first, we must gather the remaining members of the party…"

She cracked her knuckles as she said that and pointed her sword at them, earning frightened whimpers from Lucy and Happy.

"Would you quit ignoring me?!" shouted an unfamiliar voice from behind them. Erza turned around to see a young lady with long pink hair tied in pigtails, striking blue sapphires for eyes and rosy lips. She wore a choker tied into a ribbon, a purple and pink short spaghetti dress with pink trimmings that hugged her curvaceous body and voluptuous breasts tightly, black leggings, and high-heeled sandals.

"Who the heck are you?" asked Erza rudely, thoroughly shocking the pink-haired girl.

"Ah, how rude! In the name of my LOVE for the Cold Emperor, I will get rid of you Fairy Tail weaklings!" she shouted, hugging herself in a very loving manner. This earned very a confused stare from Erza.

"**Doll Attack: Rock Doll!"**

As she raised her hand after casting the spell, a large amount of rocks began to move towards the large boulder she was standing on and began to compile, taking the shape of a large golem. She stood on its head.

"Die, weaklings!" she screamed. The golem raised a massive rocky fist and threw it at them.

"Who are you calling weaklings?!" shouted a voice from above them. Everyone, including the pink-haired girl, looked up to see who had said that, but Erza already knew. Suddenly, Draxnor landed harshly in between the would-be battlers, his two devil wings morphing back into the six original ones and pointing menacingly towards the golem, making Lucy and Happy scream in shock. The girl atop the golem stared wide-eyed at the new intruder in their battle. The golem's fist, however, was still directed straight at them, with Draxnor the first to be hit. He raised his right fist and brought it back.

"**Black Armament!"**

He lunged at the gigantic fist as his arm turned into the familiar solid black color. The crash that ensued shook the area around them, but it was clear who had the stronger fist as the golem's entire arm began to crumble into dust.

"KYYAAAAAA! HE BROKE THE GIANT FIST WITH HIS BARE HANDS?!" cried Lucy shrilly, her eyes bugging out of her sockets in unadulterated shock with a little tinge of fear thrown in.

"WHAT?! HOW CAN THIS BE?!" the pink-haired girl shouted in disbelief.

"Simple… this rock is too weak compared to my strength…" Draxnor muttered softly, but still loud enough for everyone to hear. His arm had returned to normal.

"I will not accept this! In the name of love, I will crush you!" she shrieked, raising her hand. The golem listened to her command and raised its remaining fist to attempt to punch Draxnor.

"Then bring it!" he roared, jumping towards the fist. Everyone braced themselves for a sure impact, but just before the blow landed, Draxnor veered off and redirected the punch with his feet. The fist slammed into the ground a few meters away from the female wizards while Draxnor sped into the golem's chest. He stopped just before he hit, placing both of his fists in front of him, his right over his left, and the wings closed in on the fists, the spikes pointing in the same direction.

"What are you doing?!" shrieked the girl, before inhaling sharply as Draxnor's magical energy spiked.

"**Six Winged Blaster!"**

A massive, powerful shockwave struck the golem, virtually disintegrating it as many small pieces of rock flew away into the night. The sections that weren't directly affected just collapsed into the ground, along with the pink-haired girl, who was screaming in terror. Just as she was about to smash into the now debris-filled clearing, one of Draxnor's wings shot towards her and wrapped around her waist. The shock cut her scream off and she began to weep softly.

"Oh, my love… I, Sherry Blendy, have lost… I will never be able to face him…" she lamented. However, she was cut off abruptly by Draxnor's death glare. Her blood ran cold, lament replaced by pure, unadulterated fear of the man that made quick work of her golem. Her eyes were wide, showcasing the total fear that surged through her mind and veins as she looked into his deep brown eyes. She could've sworn she saw a glint of red swimming through them.

"So… let me ask you again… who's the weakling?" he growled softly, not needing to shout at her to make her cower… the softness of his voice was just as deadly…

Her whimpering increasing in volume, she closed her eyes, her face scrunching as she tried to squirm from the grip that was almost squeezing the life out of her.

"That's enough, Draxnor… Release her…" ordered Erza patiently. Draxnor sighed, closed his eyes and did as he was told, placing her gently on the ground before unwinding his wing from her waist. However, his wings were still pointed menacingly at her. Her whimpering did not cease for a moment as she fell to her knees, her choking and sharp inhales piercing the silence that ruled the air.

"Leave..._ now,_" he ordered Sherry, pointing to the forest. She quickly nodded her head, stood up and ran off into the night. Draxnor sighed before he turned and faced Erza, who was now standing over Lucy, her sword pointed once again at her, giving her a glare made the blonde squeak in fear. The little flying cat, Happy, was still behind her, his little face full of fear as well. He sighed once again before beginning the slightly painful process of retracting his wings back into his body. This snapped everyone out of their respective stupors as they turned to see what Draxnor was doing. Slowly, but surely, the wings receded, until they were nothing but bleeding slits on his upper back…

"Are you okay, Draxnor?" asked Erza, requipping into her **Heart Kreuz Armor**.

"I'll be fine," he replied. "I found the source of the large amount of released magical energy we sensed earlier."

"Well?" she prompted.

"They're using **Moon Drip** on a temple not too far from here. I don't know _why_ they're using it, but it doesn't seem well-intentioned."

"I know why they're using it!" piped up Lucy, standing up and dusting herself off. Both Draxnor and Erza quickly snapped their attention towards her, and she backed away slowly, intimidated by their intent stares.

"Well?" prompted Erza again.

"They're using it to unfreeze this huge demon called Deliora or something like that," Lucy explained, earning a small gasp from Erza. Draxnor, however, closed his eyes and smirked, shocking Lucy.

"I see… so that big, ugly idiot decides to show his face again…" he muttered softly, but loud enough for everyone present to hear.

"You know about Deliora?" asked Lucy, surprised.

"Of course I do. It is one of Zeref's creations. Popularly called the "Demon of Destruction", it caused havoc up in the north, but it suddenly disappeared 10 years ago. I guess this is where he has been all this time…" Draxnor replied.

"Who's Zeref?" asked Happy, slight confusion on his small face.

"He was the most powerful dark mage to ever exist. He used **Black Arts**, the darkest magic a wizard can use…" Draxnor continued. "He was also a known user of **Living Magic**, granting him ability to breathe life into things… create demons, basically."

"Like Lullaby," Erza spoke softly.

"Exactly… wait, how do you know about Lullaby?" Draxnor inquired curiously.

"We destroyed it not long ago when we fought the Dark Guild Eisenwald," she replied. "They were planning on using it on all the guild masters at the Guild Masters' Conference."

"I see… quite a foolish move…" he muttered, impressed by the fact that Lullabywas destroyed… by a few wizards, no less. From what he knew, it usually took scores of wizards to bring down a demon of that caliber, but he also had to remind himself that this was Fairy Tail he was talking about. Those usual rules _never _applied to them.

"Of course… We managed to stop them in their tracks and defeat Lullaby after…" Erza began, but trailed off suddenly, deep in thought.

"After it showed its true form…" Draxnor finished, earning a surprised nod from Erza, Lucy and Happy. "It must have been difficult to defeat such a demon."

"It was… we almost lost Natsu to it…" Erza stated softly, closing her eyes. Lucy and Happy had grim expressions after she said that.

"I imagine… Fighting creations of Zeref is no walk in the park…" Draxnor commented.

"It's not… wait… how do you know so much about demons and Zeref?" asked Erza, looking at him intently, closely followed by the others.

"I didn't tell you?" Draxnor asked confusedly. Erza shook her head. "My, my… forgive me… I was a demon hunter when I was younger, so, naturally, I am well versed when it comes to demons and Zeref, since he was the creator of many of them."

"I see…" Erza muttered, ignoring the visibly paled and shocked expressions from Lucy and Happy.

"Anyways, we have a job to do right? Pick up everyone that broke the rules and take them back to the guild for punishment…" he stated.

"You're right…"

"Wait, Erza! Draxnor! We need to help the people in the village!" shouted Lucy, genuine concern tinting her voice. "If we don't, they will be cursed forever! We have to do something!"

"Well… speak your mind. What did they ask?" Draxnor prompted.

"They asked us to destroy the moon!" Lucy said.

"Destroy the moon? That's impossible…" he deadpanned, looking up at the sky. "Oh… by the way… Erza, the moon _is_ purple…"

"YOU BARELY NOTICED IT?!" Lucy and Happy shouted in shock.

"Really?" asked Erza, ignoring the two. "Well… no matter. Tell me, Lucy, where are Natsu and Gray?"

"Well, I don't know where Natsu is, having left for the temple a while ago, but Gray is back at the village, although he's really hurt," Lucy replied.

"WHAT?!" shouted Erza, making the celestial wizard and the flying cat cower. "Why didn't you tell us before?!"

"I tried! But…" Lucy began, but was interrupted by Draxnor.

"That doesn't matter right now. Let's go to the village and tend to Gray, and then find Natsu later on. The village is in that direction, although it is pretty much destroyed except for what seems to be a storage hut in the outskirts."

"Right," the other three replied, looking in the direction Draxnor pointed. He raised his hand, bursting into flames shortly afterwards.

"AAACKK! He's on fire!" screamed Happy along with Lucy. Just as they finished screaming, the flames dissipating, revealing Draxnor in his blue long-sleeve button up shirt left unbuttoned at the top and his trench coat draped over his shoulders. He, however, took it off quickly.

"Here, Lucy… It's a little chilly," he offered, extending his coat towards the almost half-naked girl. She shivered, seemingly noticing the chilliness just after he mentioned it.

"Oh!" she said, blushing slightly. "Are you sure? Won't you be cold?"

"Nah… I'm fine. I'm not the one that is almost half naked…" he pointed out, earning a small squeak and a slightly brighter blush from Lucy.

"Oh! Well… thanks, Draxnor," she replied, taking the coat from his hands and quickly putting it on. Instantly, she felt very pleasurable warmth surrounding her body, with his strong masculine scent invading her nostrils.

"Well… we should get going," Draxnor said, walking in the direction of the village, not looking back to see if the girls and cat followed him or not. Erza, Lucy and Happy nodded and quickly caught up with him, maintaining his fast pace quite easily.

Some 15 minutes passed when Draxnor, Erza, Lucy and Happy at the village… or what remained of it. Draxnor was right… where the village was supposed to be resided a giant round hole with a piece of land jutting out in the middle, seemingly the village square. There was nothing on that small piece of land. Smoke was rising from the other side of the hole, meaning that the villagers must've moved to that certain location.

"You were right… the village is practically nonexistent right now…" acknowledged Erza. "But, how did it happen?"

"Well, that girl that Draxnor just beat and a few others flew by on a giant rat and dropped a sort of green jelly on the village. Natsu ordered everyone in the village to gather at the square and redirected the jelly with his **Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame**, but instead of dispersing it _outside_ the village, it fell _on_ the village, although nobody was hurt," Lucy explained exasperatedly.

"That idiot… he always goes overboard," growled Erza, face palming. "Well, that doesn't matter. Take us to the place where Gray is at."

"Right… the storage area of this village shouldn't be too far from here. It should be just across the hole," said Lucy, pointing right across the hole.

"Oh, yeah… not too far, you say," muttered Happy sarcastically. Lucy glared at the cat.

"Shut up, stupid cat!"

"Well… anyways, we must go," Draxnor cut them off before they began an argument. It seemed to him that these two caused quite a ruckus amongst themselves… repeatedly. He almost did not want to imagine how Natsu and Gray would be. He felt slightly sympathetic towards Erza. Having to deal with this particular group was seemingly no walk in the park.

Shortly after a silent trek _around_ the hole, much to Draxnor's chagrin, who wanted to go _through_ the hole, the group of wizards made it to the other side of the hole. The smoke was a lot clearer now, and from where it rose did not seem too far from the remnants of the village like Lucy said. After walking at a brisk pace through the woods, they came across a sizable clearing with a few large, skin-colored tents perched, spaced equally.

"Ah, so you're back!" called out a voice. Everyone turned to the owner of the voice and was met with a short, purple demon full of violet spots with very long white sideburns extending down to his hips. His feet, along with his hands, were blue claws. He wore a necklace of what seemed to be large animal teeth with a small skull as a decoration, a dark blue cape draped over his shoulders with a crescent moon symbol, a tribal-like kilt cut decoratively, and three gold rings on both of his legs and his left arm. He carried a simple staff with a crescent moon at the upper tip.

"Ah, hello, Chief Moka!" called out Lucy, slightly nervously. Erza and Draxnor wondered why, but the question was quickly answered when Moka was suddenly right in front of Lucy's face.

"So… have you destroyed the moon yet?" he muttered, before quickly jumping back and facing Draxnor and Erza. "And who might you be?"

"Creepy!" Lucy screamed softly.

"Oh… I'm Erza, and this is Draxnor. We're both members of Fairy Tail," Erza replied. "We have come to retrieve our fellow guild mate, Gray. In which tent is he?"

"Oh, he's in that one," he said, pointing towards the tent closest to them.

"Thanks," she replied. "Let's go."

Walking into the large tent, they noticed a large amount of crates and boxes stacked up neatly, pushed to three edges of the tent, leaving the entrance and the center of the tent completely clear. Lying in front of them, under covers, with most of his body bandaged, was Gray. He seemed to be sleeping.

"I would be silent…" stated Draxnor softly. "Erza… stay here with Lucy and Happy. I'll go retrieve Natsu… if that's okay with you, of course."

"Yes, that's fine. Make sure you bring him back as soon as possible. I have a few things to discuss with him," she muttered, an evil glint appearing in her eyes.

"I will," was all he said before exiting the tent. Erza found a chair not so far from where Gray was and sat on it. It was seemingly the only chair in the room.

"Sit," she ordered patiently to Lucy.

"Where?" she inquired.

"On the floor, where else," replied Erza.

"But what about Draxnor's coat?" asked Lucy.

"He won't mind, I assure you… now just sit…"

"Why are you treating me like this!" shouted Lucy impassively.

"Because you broke a rule! Or do you want me to tie you up?" Erza countered heatedly, giving Lucy a glare that chilled her bones. She frantically shook her head. "Well, then… sit."

"Yes, ma'am!" she squeaked, quickly throwing herself on the ground, wincing slightly at the pain.

"We will wait here until Draxnor comes back with Natsu. Then we will leave this island…"

"Wait, what?! I thought you said we were going to help the villagers!" cried Lucy indignantly.

"I never said such a thing. It was Draxnor who gave a semblance of such a statement, not me," Erza retorted.

"Aw, come on, Erza! Don't be so mean! They need our help!" said Happy, using his most innocent voice to try to get her to relent. However, it did not seem to work.

"I said NO, Happy!" Erza nearly bellowed. "We were ordered by Master Makarov to retrieve you all and take you back for punishment!"

"**Six Winged King: Wings of the Fallen Angel!"**

Draxnor's cry interrupted the argument, assisted by the large spike in magical energy. Lucy and Happy shivered slightly, while Erza looked at the tent's entrance indifferently.

"For some odd reason, his magic feels awfully creepy," pointed out Lucy. Happy nodded fervently while Erza had no change in expression.

"Think so?" she asked, a bored tone ruling her voice. Lucy nodded, just as fervently as Happy. An awkward silence ruled the group for a little while. Lucy kept fidgeting while Happy was perched on her shoulder, looking up, worrying about Natsu. Erza seemed to be doing the same, only she was more discreet. Gray stirred ever so slightly, going unnoticed by the girls and cat. He slowly opened one eye, but quickly closed it, pretending to still be asleep.

"So… what's his story?" asked Lucy suddenly, snapping the silence. Erza blinked momentarily before looking at her in the eye.

"Who… Draxnor's?" she inquired, earning a nod from the celestial wizard. "Oh… well, I don't know much about him yet. He joined yesterday after he walked in on the rainy afternoon. After a very brief scuffle between Elfman and him, I became interested in his power so I challenged him to a match, sure that I would win, but after a long battle, he beat me…"

"EEEEEEEHHHHH?! HE BEAT YOU?!" screamed Lucy, her eyes as wide as they could go. Happy was screaming in terror and shock at that. Even Gray, who was pretending to be asleep, had his eyes wide open. Erza nodded simply, as if beating her was not a big deal. "IS HE THAT STRONG?!"

Erza once again nodded, expressionless. It seemed to Lucy that she didn't care whether she lost or not, but in reality, Erza was slightly nervous about telling Natsu that she lost, breaking the promise she made long ago. There was no avoiding it, now that she was here in Galuna Island, just a short distance from wherever he was. Gray stirred once again, and this time it was noticed by Erza, who snapped out of her thoughts.

"Gray! You woke up!" she said, relieved of one of her worries.

"Erza… what are you doing here?" he asked painfully.

"I'm here to retrieve you all and take you back to the master," Erza replied, instantly becoming serious. "Why didn't you bring them back like Master Makarov ordered?"

"It was already too late… By the time I got to them, they were already climbing a boat headed here. Besides, it was a good thing I didn't take them back."

"And why is that? Because of Deliora? Or because of the actual request?"

Gray was stunned into silence, his mouth hanging open. He tried to articulate words, but all he ever got out was incomprehensible gibberish.

"How… h-how do you know about Deliora?" Gray asked, finally recovering control of his voice.

"Lucy told me about the demon being here, and Draxnor mentioned Deliora attacking the north many years ago, where you are from. I couldn't help but assume that you were perhaps a victim of Deliora's assaults," Erza explained, a small smile gracing her lips.

"Who's this Draxnor guy?" Gray almost demanded, making Erza raise her eyebrows slightly.

"Draxnor is a new member of Fairy Tail. He joined when you all were breaking the rules, so you all were not able to meet him. Why?"

"Is it true that he beat you in a fight?" he demanded this time.

"Yeah, is there a problem with that?" she asked patiently. Gray paled slightly.

"No! Not at all. I was just wondering…"

"Very well… Once Draxnor comes back with Natsu we will leave this island," Erza stated.

"But…"

"No buts, Gray. You have broken a very important rule, and I will take you back for your punishment."

"What about the village?!" he shouted. "What are you going to tell them?"

"I'll just tell them that you were not qualified to take the job and ask for their forgiveness for any inconvenience we may have caused," she answered simply. Gray looked down, gritting his teeth. His face shook slightly before steeling his expression.

"No…"

"What did you say?"

"I will not leave. I am already here, involved in this job with that fire-breath. We already promised the villagers that we would do our best to lift the curse," Gray growled. It happened so quickly… Erza had her sword pointed towards Gray in a flash, shocking everyone.

"Don't do this, Gray…" was all Erza said. Gray closed his eyes before grabbing the blade, slicing some of his skin in the process. Blood stained the blade as it flowed and dripped to the floor.

"GRAY!" Lucy yelled in concern as Erza just looked at him seriously.

"I will, Erza. Listen to me… these people need us. Are you going to forsake them because _we _broke a _stupid rule_?" he snarled, glaring at her intently.

"_A stupid rule_? You seriously did not just say that, Gray Fullbuster. That rule is there for a good reason! You can die in S-Class Missions! Look at yourself! _You could've died_! And now Natsu is _missing_! He could be _hurt_ or _dead_, for all I know!" she cried, choking the last few words.

"But I'm not! That's all that matters to me! And he _is_ alive out there… somewhere. I'm not leaving Erza. Not after we promised to help them! I'm pretty damn sure flame-brain, Lucy and Happy feel the same way. And I'm also pretty sure that dude Draxnor feels similar even though he came with you! You're an S-Class Mage, Erza. Now you can give us the clearance to finish the mission without any trouble. Do this for us, right now. Not just for the village, but for Fairy Tail's reputation!" Gray shouted.

Erza gritted her teeth and looked down. He was right… Gray was totally right. These people needed help right now, and she would be forsaking them to a possible horrible future if they were to leave. Natsu surely felt the same way. He would be outraged at her if she were to pull them out of this mission. She didn't know if she could deal with his anger. While it was true that he has been angry at her before, it was just for petty reasons. Now, he would be _truly_ angry at her for going against his principles. She wouldn't let that happen, no matter what.

"Fine…" she relented, sighing deeply. "I will stay and finish the mission with you. But after we're done, you are still going to be punished!"

"That's the Erza I know," Gray smiled, but then paled considerably. "Wait, we're still getting punished?"

At Erza's nod, he drooped to the floor, his eyes unfocused. "Not that… please… not that," he muttered.

"Whoa, what got him in such a state?" asked Lucy.

"Oh, it's nothing," Erza replied, smiling mischievously. "The punishment for rule breakers tends to be rather disheartening, that's all…"

Lucy paled considerably, looking up at the tent's ceiling.

'_What did I get myself into?' _

…

A young woman, seemingly around 18 years old, with shoulder-length, wavy black hair with bangs covering her right eye was walking down a dark hall with lamps hung high and spaced equally on the walls. Towards the end of the hall was a silhouette of large, dark colored double doors. She was rather tall for a girl her age, standing at five feet with 11 inches, and she had very voluptuous curves, with her bountiful chest only covered by a dark purple bra, her seductively swaying hips covered by tight black shorts and long black high-heeled boots. She wore long, dark purple armbands that had one hole for her middle finger, and a long black trench coat with intricate dark purple designs running throughout the ends draped over her shoulders as if it were a cape. Her eyes were a deep gray, and a malevolent smile graced her delicate visage.

She had found him… _finally_. After three years of searching, she had found him. She couldn't believe it had taken her so long to find him, but there was good reason for that, for he was incredibly good at two things: _lying _and _hiding his tracks_. Thanks to that, nobody knew the man he was seven years ago existed… To the idiotic people around him, he was just a normal man… but he wasn't. The man that took her in when she was 11 years old, taught her almost all of the magic she currently knew, and then disappeared four years later on her fifteenth birthday… was a _monster_.

She wasn't going to let this opportunity at revenge slip away from her… not after he decided to show his handsome face after three years of disappearance. And to make things juicier, he showed up near the town of Magnolia, meaning that he most likely joined the guild _her_ guild hated: Fairy Tail…

He shouldn't have abandoned her, not after everything they went through together. Sure, it was just four years they spent together, but she developed such a strong bond with him that it destroyed her heart when he disappeared on her biggest day. But, while his disappearance left her an empty shell of her former self, hatred for the man slowly began to seep in… to fill the void that _he _so unceremoniously left.

'_You are my little sister… I'll always be there for you.'_

Those words filled her with so much joy... love… life… He was her everything, after he had _taken _away what _was_ her everything before him. She clenched her teeth in anger at the horrific memory. She had spent so many nights trying crying herself to sleep after the _horror_ that she witnessed. In time, though, she began to come to terms with it… all thanks to _him, _the person who _caused _it in the first place.

She didn't know how he had managed to get into her mind and make her love him so much. No… she knew… he didn't make her love him… _she_ loved him on her _own_ accord.

Stopping in front of the double doors, the girl sighed deeply, trying to put on a stoic expression before knocking on the door.

"Come in, child," answered a voice on the other side, prompting her to walk in.

The room was a small, very dimly lit office. The only source of light was a small candle that was set on a table to the right side of the room. There was one large window at the end of the room, but it was covered with long, thick black curtains, preventing any light from permeating. There was one shelf on either side of the window. A large desk was visible, along with two chairs in front of it and one behind it. The silhouettes of two men were visible, one standing, one sitting, facing opposite directions.

"I've heard from Gajeel here that you managed to find the man you've been searching for, child," the sitting silhouette spoke in an elderly voice, pointing what seemed to be a hand at the silhouette behind him. This was her Guild Master, master of the Phantom Lord Guild and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jose Porla. Although his outfit wasn't exactly visible in the darkness, it resembled an outfit a run-of-the-mill sorcerer would wear, with what seemed to be a high-collared coat with a long pointy wizard's hat. The things that stood out more were the two bat-like wings he had on his back. Even though his outfit was not easily discernible, his eyes were. They were cold… calculating… _powerful_.

"I have, master," she spoke, bowing slightly. "According to trusted sources of mine, he was last spotted in the outskirts of Magnolia."

"Magnolia, you say? Good, child. Now let me ask you something. Why do you want to kill this man? You never really gave us specifics on him… not even his name. All you ever said is that he was your brother, a criminal and that you wanted revenge against him when you joined," Jose spoke.

"That's all I want, Master… revenge… nothing more," replied the girl simply.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" he asked, smiling through his serious tone.

"I-I don't know…" she replied honestly. Gajeel smirked.

"You want to kill him yet you don't know how? Pathetic… Is he strong?" he asked, not turning around. She nodded.

"Really? Maybe _I_ should kill him for you," he mocked, turning over to sneer at her. She got a good look at him now through the darkness. He was slightly taller than her, standing at about six feet and one inch, and he had long, black spiky hair slicked back extending down to his waist. He had red eyes and no visible eyebrows. The most prominent features on his face were the small, nigh invisible studs he had on where his eyebrows were supposed to be, on either side of his nose, and on his chin. He wore two sets of five earrings on his ears. He was very lean and muscular, wearing a shabby black sleeveless tunic with studded edges, a studded belt on his waist, loose beige pants tucked inside studded black boots, and studded brown gloves. The things that stood out the most on his body were the black wing-like ornament he had attached to his right shoulder with a stud and four studs on each of his forearms.

"You won't stand a chance against him, _Gajeel_," she spat. "I know _I_ have a much better chance of killing him, but still…"

"Oh? Is the _little girl _not strong enough to kill her older brother?" Gajeel mocked. "Tell me… Is it fear?"

"Look, tin head, I know him well enough to know he's no damn pushover. If I were to venture a guess, I would say he's as strong as Master Jose, _one of the Ten Wizard Saints_, if not stronger," she growled. She was about to say something else but Gajeel and Jose's loud laughter cut her off.

"Him? As strong as me? You must be joking, child!" laughed Jose coldly. "What makes you say that?"

"Forgive me, Master," she apologized, bowing. "It slipped my mouth. No one is as strong as you."

"Damn right you are," Gajeel smirked.

"However, you have me interested. I have seen your strength, child. You easily rival Gajeel and Aria's strength, perhaps even surpass them._ I _would venture a guess that you're as strong as Fairy Tail's Titania Erza. If he is that much stronger, why not just have him join us?" asked Jose, seemingly ignoring Gajeel's comment of him being stronger than Erza, but his smile said otherwise. "Instead of killing him and losing a seemingly very talented wizard to death's welcoming arms, why not have him live and make him one of our own? He would…"

"He doesn't deserve it, Master!" she interrupted loudly. "He doesn't deserve to live after the crimes he committed… after what he did to me!"

"Oh? What a shame…" Jose spoke sarcastically. "Such a waste…"

"The only problem, though… would be luring him into a trap he won't be able to escape from…" she continued, deep in thought.

"That little problem is solved, child," replied Jose, smiling widely. "We attack the weaklings in Fairy Tail and force them to go to war against us. If he _was_ last sighted at Magnolia, then that's where he most likely is."

"How do you want us to do that?" asked Gajeel.

"Oh, that is simple… You will attack the guild hall at night when nobody is there, while she surveys the town for him. This will get some members riled up and wary of us, but it will not be enough to get Makarov angry. The old geezer is too soft for that. Afterwards, both of you will target a few of the fairy scum and attack them, in the dead of night. If you brother is as good as you say, child, he should sense the danger and come running. There, both of you can ambush him and take him down," Jose stated, smiling.

"But what if he brings backup?" asked Gajeel. "Knowing these fairy weaklings, they are bound to be together."

"That is why I'm putting both of you together on that job," he replied simply.

"Besides, I doubt he'll bring backup. He's more of a lone wolf. He prefers to do things alone," the girl stated.

"That makes things much better. _You _get something, child, while _we_ get something as well," said Jose, surprising the other two.

"Really… and what would that be?" Gajeel asked, interested.

"I was contacted yesterday by none other than Jude Heartfilia, owner of the Heartfilia Konzern. He requested us to bring his long-lost daughter, Lucy Heartfilia, back to him, by any means necessary. We've also gathered from a few reliable sources that she is currently holed up with those Fairy Tail weaklings," Master Jose replied. "When we get her… we can use her as a means of bleeding the Heartfilia Konzern of their millions!"

"Really? If so, that's another reason to destroy those stupid fairies," muttered the girl, smiling evilly before turning around and walking towards the door. "I'll take my leave, Master. I need to prepare."

"Very well, child. Take care," said Master Jose as she left his office. She didn't notice that Gajeel had followed her shortly after.

Finally, she was going to have her revenge on _him_… the man that murdered her parents, took her in, and then abandoned her… the man she _hated _and _loved _with all her deeply scarred heart…

Draxnor Hellion…

…

* * *

_**And there you go! I hope you enjoyed reading this very lengthy chapter!**_

_**Next time... Deliora is unleashed! Will it die instantly? Or will it roar to life and cause death and destruction on the unfortunate islanders? And who's the person Draxnor mentioned? Find out! **_

_**For now... review, review, review!**_

_**Until next time! Ciao!**_


	4. Natsu Dragneel vs Draxnor Hellion

_**Hello, everyone!**_

_**I return here with chapter 4 of A Demon's Inner Angel! I have decided to give you the epic clash between Natsu and Draxnor! Who will emerge victorious? Well, find out below! **_

_**Like always, please read and review! (Flamers will be blatantly ignored. Seriously, if you don't like, don't read. Simple logic...)**_

_**Anyways, onto the story! **_

_**Enjoy!**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, its rights or any of its characters, spells, locations, etc. These belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima. I only own my OCs, my spells, etc. Any resemblance to anything or anyone, either living or dead, is purely coincidental. Also, this work is purely meant for non-profit entertainment.**

Hello " "= **Dialogue**

**Requip " "= Spells and Magical Item Names**

_What? ' ' = _**Thoughts**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Natsu Dragneel vs. Draxnor Hellion**

Natsu bolted up, grabbing his forehead tightly. He scrutinized his surroundings. He was in a sizable hole in the middle of the forest. He wasn't anywhere near the storage hut, that was a given. But where was he _exactly_?

He looked up into the sky and flinched slightly when rays of sunlight hit him directly. It was… morning…

"HOLY CRAP!" he shouted as he bolted to his feet. "I must've fallen asleep!"

Had he fallen asleep? He couldn't really tell, since all he could remember from the past night was him running through the forest trying to get to the temple. After that, he remembered nothing. His mind was completely blank after that. He rubbed his forehead.

"Yeah… I must've fallen asleep…"

Stretching out, Natsu sniffed his surroundings for the familiar smell of old temple throughout the multitude of smells and pinpointed it to his right. Sighing slightly, he trekked through the thick foliage of the forest. He noted that most of the plants were green, and some plants had virtually all colors of the rainbow.

As he arrived at the clearing that held the temple, Natsu began to remember why he came here in the first place. He was planning on destroying the pillars located under the temple, so it would destabilize and the **Moon Drip** would not hit Deliora's icy prison. After finding out that it was one of the few things that could melt the **Ice Shell**, he decided that interrupting the flow of **Moon Drip** was the best course of action. Before he knew it, he was already inside the temple.

While walking through the temple's aging corridors, Natsu used his very keen sense of smell once again to sniff out any people that might try to prevent him from doing his job. He got all of the nigh familiar smells, from the Cold Emperor's to his pink-haired lover, Sherry Blendy. However, he picked up two very unfamiliar scents… one of a woman, and one of a man. Both of them were under the temple, his planned destination.

Speeding up into a jog, he found a staircase leading under the temple. There, he broke into a sprint down the stairs until he came upon the room where the unfamiliar scents were.

Then he felt it… two very powerful magical signatures, emanating from the people in the room. One was a tall, very muscular man with spiky black hair, who was wearing a navy blue long sleeve shirt with black slacks and predominantly black shoes, and the other was a very short, slender old man with long green hair wearing a mask and a long brown robe which covered most of his body. They seemed to be involved in an argument since the tall man had his hand pointed towards the short man, who was backing away slightly. He couldn't discern what they were talking about.

He sniffed the air once again. The smell of the unknown woman hit his nostrils again, and this time, he saw where it originated from… the short, green-haired man. This confused Natsu slightly, but he shook his head, focusing on the taller man.

Without another thought, he lunged towards the man, his right fist raised as it bathed in flames.

"**Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

Natsu's flame-coated fist slammed into the taller man's cheek and sent him flying into the temple's wall, where he suffered a mighty crash, a large dust cloud and debris burying him. The man with the womanly scent took a few steps back, visibly shocked and then ran outside the room and deeper into the temple. Natsu didn't pay any attention to the short man and kept his eyes on the dust cloud. The tall man he just decked still did not show any signs of movement or anything…

"**Black Armament!"**

Suddenly, the man emerged from the dust, flying directly towards Natsu, with his right fist held behind him. Natsu, his eyes widening slightly at the man's impressive speed and his solid black arms, nimbly sidestepped the attack and watched as the man slammed his fist into one of the pillars that held the temple, completely destroying it.

"Whoa, wouldn't want to be hit by that one…" Natsu commented dryly before inhaling a large amount of air.

"**Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

A large stream of red-orange fire shot out of Natsu's mouth straight towards the black-fisted man. His black fists returned to normal as he raised his left hand with his palm open.

"**Force Shield!"**

Natsu saw with slight surprise as his opponent was surrounded by a large red magical dome that took the entire brunt of his attack and deflected it away, leaving the man completely unscathed. However, the man was pushed back slightly by the brute force of Natsu's attack.

Both warriors silently stared at each other as their spells dissipated. They scrutinized each other, attempting to read each other's minds and figure out their upcoming moves. The tall man broke the silence first while bringing his right fist behind him.

"**Black Armament!"**

Once again, he lunged towards Natsu, intending to strike his face.

'_I can see that the attack is powerful… But mine's stronger!'_ thought Natsu as he lunged towards his unfamiliar opponent, his right fist and elbow engulfed in flames.

"**Fire Dragon's Iron Elbow!"**

Solid black met blazing red-orange, unleashing an insanely powerful shockwave that cracked a considerable amount of the surroundings. Both of the fighters were flung back, skidding along the cracking ground until they stopped, roughly at the same time and at roughly the same distance from their meeting point. The man smirked at Natsu, with the pink-haired Dragon Slayer reciprocating the gesture.

"You're stronger than I expected…" Natsu commented cockily. "You're not like those other dudes I beat up. They were weak… and stupid. What's your name?"

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment, Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Salamander. The name's Draxnor," the man named Draxnor replied, smiling. "Shall we continue?"

"You bet! I'm all fired up!" Natsu replied, taking in a large breath while Draxnor raised his right palm up in the air, a rainbow colored orb appearing just above it.

"**Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

"**1000 Flames of Hell!"**

Natsu released his signature **Dragon's Roar** as Draxnor released a barrage of rainbow colored flames from his hand. Both attacks met in the exact spot where their fists met a little while ago. They locked, neither gaining an edge. However, the beams began to compile, forming a large orb of rainbow colored flames that exploded, destroying much of their battle arena and engulfing it in smoke. Natsu, feeling most of the temple collapsing, ran towards the nearest wall and blasted it away with one of his punches, surprisingly revealing the light of day.

Without thinking, he jumped towards the forest, using his **Fire Dragon's Claw** as a booster. Giving a back flip, Natsu eyed the temple closely, searching for any signs of Draxnor. There were none. Thinking their short scuffle was over, Natsu turned around to check for a good landing spot until he felt a massive spike of unstable magical energy.

'_What the…!' _thought Natsu. His eyes widened once again as he saw Draxnor flying straight at him at an incredible speed, his right fist once again surrounded by his **Black Armament**, but also by something else that seemed to be boiling.

"**Oblivion Fist!"**

'_Shit! Got to avoid that one!' _thought Natsu as he redirected his feet upward, changing directions completely.

Draxnor's certainly fatal attack barely missed him, but it seemed that it was just what Draxnor wanted when he landed a strong kick to his abdomen, making him gasp slightly in pain. Draxnor was about to kick Natsu to the ground, but he landed a powerful flame-enhanced kick to Draxnor's gut and used his body to propel himself to the ground, landing gracefully.

It was Draxnor's turn to grunt in pain as Natsu's kick stumped his initial forward momentum, making him land a short distance away from the pink-haired Dragon Slayer. Both fighters engaged in a staring contest again.

"It seems you have been holding back…" Natsu commented, his tone serious.

"You figured?" Draxnor asked, smiling. "Well, I think you have been holding back, too. But, for some odd reason, I can't feel your magic energy. Care to explain?"

"Can't feel my magic energy? I guess only Erza and Mira can feel it, then, because nobody else can feel it… not even Gramps," Natsu replied, grabbing his chin with his left hand, feigning deep thought.

"Well, no matter. Let's kick things up a notch," Draxnor said, crouching while crossing his arms in front of his chest. With a resounding roar, Draxnor's magical energy began to skyrocket. He was surrounded by a fiery red aura and blue electricity as the ground cracked beneath him and powerful gusts of wind hit Natsu's face.

Initially shocked at the massive increase in power when Draxnor was done, Natsu's expression became serious.

"Alright then… my turn. I wanted to try this against Erza, but she got arrested before I could even bring it up," Natsu stated with slight disappointment present in his voice, spreading his arms wide before fisting his hands and bending his elbows towards his sides. "Oh, well… You'll be the first to witness one of my new techniques, Draxnor."

"I am honored…" Draxnor commented offhandedly, bowing slightly with a smile on his face. Natsu smirked.

"**Blazing Drive!"**

Natsu let his own magical energy spike up. The power-up garnered the same environmental effects as Draxnor's, with the ground cracking beneath his feet and gusts of wind going in all directions. However, a vortex of flames surrounded Natsu, dancing around his body as they soared into the sky.

When they cleared, Natsu stood there, tongues of fire sticking out of his arms, shoulders and back, giving the appearance of flaming dragon wings. He crouched slightly, taking his battle stance, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Let's get this party started…"

"Yeah… let's," muttered Draxnor. Natsu took a deep breath.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Roar!"**

A torrent of flames, much brighter, larger and stronger than any he has ever thrown before, shot towards Draxnor at unimaginable speeds. Draxnor's eyes widened considerably.

'_What the…!'_ he thought, shocked.

"**Force Shield!"**

Lifting his hand just in the nick of time, Draxnor cast his protective transparent-red dome of energy. However, Natsu's attack struck with unprecedented force, completely obliterating his protective shield, engulfing him in flames. Draxnor roared in pain as he was sent flying into a multitude of trees, snapping them in half as if they were mere twigs as he crashed into them. When the crashing stopped, though, a large transparent red orb sailed through the rubble straight towards Natsu. He jumped away as the orb crashed into the ground and watched intently, waiting for the orb to explode, but it never did. It only expanded, splitting the ground before it disappeared, leaving behind a large crater.

"What the heck was that all about?" wondered Natsu, absentmindedly. "I expected an explosion."

"So that **Blazing Drive** is a magical amplification technique, right?" Draxnor asked as he stepped out of the rubble, seemingly unscathed and still surrounded by the blazing red aura and blue electricity. Natsu, slightly surprised, took a little time before registering what he had asked.

"Yeah… My flames are stronger, I'm faster, and I'm stronger, too," Natsu replied, smirking cockily. "Here, let me show you…"

Natsu lunged at Draxnor, his fist raised, bathing in more powerful flames.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Iron Fist!"**

"**Black Armament!"**

Draxnor crossed his solid black arms in front of his chest as Natsu struck, sending him back slightly. Natsu did not relent, jumping forward once again and unleashing a flurry of flame-enhanced punches that Draxnor had some difficulty blocking. He then jumped back before lunging forward and landing a powerful blow to Natsu's gut.

He bent over slightly, gasping in pain before he was flung backward, but he managed to stop himself before crashing with his **Fire Dragon's Blazing Claw **before rocketing back towards Draxnor.

"Let's fight fire with fire," Draxnor muttered, before summoning bright flames around his arms that soon gained a nigh black color.

"**Black Flame Armament!"**

Just as Natsu was about to land a flame-enhanced kick, Draxnor lifted his left arm and blocked it with seemingly little effort, and then punched him away. Natsu landed on his back as Draxnor lunged and aimed to smash him deeper into the ground. Natsu spun on his back before springing upwards just in time, for Draxnor had slammed his fist into the ground, cracking it. Before Natsu could even muster a counterattack, Draxnor was already upon him, swinging his black flaming fists, forcing him to be on the defensive.

Natsu cursed mentally. He quickly searched for an opening, but it seemed that Draxnor wasn't leaving any, until he saw a sliver of one.

'_There!' _thought Natsu, lashing out at the opening.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Iron Fist!"**

Natsu managed to push past Draxnor's two arms as they prepared for a joint attack and landed a massive blow to his gut. Draxnor grunted in pain as he was sent back, skidding through the ground until he stopped. However, he managed to remain standing.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Claw!"**

Natsu lunged towards Draxnor, with his flame-enhanced feet acting as boosters. He then flipped and threw a series of powerful kicks. Draxnor blocked some of them but was hit by a few. Not wanting to take more hits, Draxnor jumped back, with Natsu closely following him.

"Let's fly!" shouted Draxnor as he jumped high into the air. Natsu, slightly surprised at the sudden move, jumped as well. Using his flame-enhanced feet, he rocketed towards Draxnor, quickly catching up.

Draxnor, noticing Natsu's growing figure, attempted to punch him with his right fist, but Natsu redirected it with his left arm. Natsu threw a punch at Draxnor's side, but he met Draxnor's left hand. Both were locked in a stalemate, attempting to overpower the other. Their energies began to flare up even more before Natsu pushed away Draxnor's right fist.

Both fighters unleashed a flurry of flame-enhanced punches, black intertwining with red-orange, unleashing shockwaves that shook the air and ground alike. Neither gained the upper hand in the brawl, as both of them blocked and landed an equal number of blows.

After both of their fists connected in a rather destructive punch, Natsu and Draxnor were flung back by the ensuing shockwave. Slowing to a stop by the usage of their energy and flame-enhanced feet, they glared at each other before bathing their whole bodies in flames.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Sword Horn!"**

"**Black Flame Demon Rush!"**

Both warriors shot towards each other at incredible speeds, leaving a trail of red-orange and black behind them. Unleashing a fierce war cry, they both crashed into each other head on. Instantly, the flames melded, forming an immensely powerful swirling fireball with them right in the middle of it. They both struggled greatly, before shooting down to the floor, causing a massive explosion of black and red-orange that obliterated much of the surroundings.

Natsu was sent reeling backwards before crashing into the ground at the base of a burnt tree. Draxnor flew the opposite direction, but he managed to land on his feet and skid backwards before hitting a miraculously untouched tree, his **Black Flame Armament** dissipating.

Natsu slowly got up, staring at Draxnor as he walked towards him, _smiling_. Even after all of those hits, Draxnor was still moving as if he hadn't been hit at all, even with all the blood flowing from his temple and the burns on his upper body.

"Are you done, Natsu Dragneel?" he asked mockingly. Before Natsu could answer, he continued, "Shame… I thought Fairy Tail's Salamander packed more of a punch than this."

"Trust me… I'm barely getting started," Natsu replied, smirking.

"Well, then… SHOW ME!" roared Draxnor, slamming his palms together before pulling them apart, a black and red orb appearing right in between them, making Natsu feel slightly sick to his stomach. He then brought his hands behind him.

"**Darkness Destruction Wave!"**

Draxnor threw his hands forward and launched a large black and red beam at Natsu. Jumping out of the way, he turned around to see the beam shoot towards a tree before somehow being redirected towards the sky. Surprised, he turned to Draxnor, who was smiling wickedly.

"How the heck did you do that?" asked Natsu.

"It's a property of **Darkness Magic**," Draxnor replied. "Since it has a physical form, I can manipulate it to my whim, even if it's a large beam like that. Of course, it requires _very _advanced control of the magic, meaning only the most skillful users can bend the beam like that."

"I see…" muttered Natsu. "Well, I can do that with my flames!"

"What?"

Natsu created a large amount of flames on his right fist and launched them at Draxnor. Draxnor crossed his arms in front of his chest and cast his **Black Armament**, bracing himself for impact.

However, Natsu had another thing in mind. The flames suddenly stopped just before striking Draxnor, and they morphed into a giant hand that grabbed him, gripping him tightly.

'_What?!' _thought Draxnor, slightly surprised and wincing in pain as the fiery hand burned him. Natsu smirked.

"See… Told ya," he said cockily. He then lunged towards Draxnor, the fiery fist still gripping him tightly, his left fist bathing in flames.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Iron Fist!"**

Natsu struck Draxnor's face, making him release a strangled cry of pain and blood from his mouth. The force was so great that he almost flew out of the giant fist, but Natsu managed to remain concentrated enough to not allow it.

"I see… Impressive, Natsu Dragneel," said Draxnor as Natsu jumped away after landing the punch. "But can your flames hold against this?"

Natsu made a small noise in surprise as Draxnor began to power up even further, the supposedly solid flames beginning to fan away from him due to the harsh gusts of wind. Blue lightning began to streak out away from his body, striking a few sections of the forest and ground near him, the blazing red aura growing. Natsu lost concentration, weakening his flames enough for Draxnor to push them away with just his magical energy. He landed on his right foot and left knee, looking down. He then looked up, a wicked smile on his face.

"Let's see how you handle this, Salamander," stated Draxnor as he disappeared. Natsu, taken aback, searched around for any signs of him. However, no signs of him were found.

'_Where the hell is he? How did he get so fast?'_ thought Natsu, gritting his teeth.

"Behind you…" Draxnor's voice whispered behind Natsu. Natsu's eyes widened before he rotated, only to receive a boot to the face. Crying in pain, Natsu was thrown back into the base of a tree. Before he could crash, though, Draxnor was already upon him, grabbing him by his coat and throwing him back where he came from. He then lunged towards Natsu and landed a breathtakingly fast barrage of punches and kicks before grabbing his neck, lifting him up and slamming him into the ground, creating a sizable crater.

Natsu cried in pain and spat blood as Draxnor released him before lifting a foot in the air. Knowing what was going to happen, Natsu rolled out of the way just in the nick of time, for Draxnor had kicked the ground with a massive amount of force, further deepening the crater.

Natsu quickly sprung to all fours before lunging at Draxnor, both of his fists blazing. Unleashing an incredible volley of punches, Natsu tried to hit Draxnor, but his punches either kept missing or kept being blocked. Draxnor then caught both of his flaming fists with his bare hands before head butting him. Natsu grunted in pain and tried to jump away, but Draxnor wasn't done yet. He slammed a fist into his gut, making Natsu bend over, crying in pain before flying back into the tree, this time crashing mightily into it, debris and dust burying him.

'_Damn, he's strong! What the hell is he?! He's not even using his __**Black Armament**__ and it hurts just as bad as when he _was_ using it!' _thought Natsu in surprise as he shakily stood up, glaring at Draxnor's smiling face. _'If this keeps going, my __**Blazing Drive **__will not be enough! I will have to resort to _that _technique, and it's not completely ready yet!'_

"This is getting troublesome…" muttered Natsu, his pink hair shadowing his eyes. "Alright… I will have to push my **Blazing Drive **to the limit!"

…

Erza woke up with a start and took her surroundings in, her breathing heavy and ragged. Rays of sunlight were permeating through the entrance of the tent. It was… morning. Then… that meant…

"Crap…" she cursed, standing up. "I must've fallen asleep."

She looked around again, and noticed that Gray, Lucy and Happy were fast asleep on the floor, but Natsu and Draxnor were nowhere to be found.

"They haven't come back…" she added worriedly. "Damn it, Natsu. Where are you?"

Then she felt it… two very powerful, very familiar magical signatures clashing somewhere on the island. She inhaled sharply when she recognized them.

"Natsu… and Draxnor…" she muttered, then yelled, "They're fighting!"

"Wha-What? What's going on?" asked Lucy groggily as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Erza… why are you yelling?" uttered Gray, his eyes half-open.

"I can feel Natsu's magical energy… as well as Draxnor's… They're out there on the island, and they're fighting each other!" Erza said loudly.

"They're WHAT?!" shouted Lucy, finally waking Happy up.

"Flame brain's fighting that Draxnor dude?" Gray asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Erza replied loudly, gritting her teeth. "Can't you feel it?!"

"Erza, you know very well that only you and Mira can feel that idiot's magical energy. Not even Gramps can feel it. I feel Draxnor's, and it's terrifying," replied Gray, standing up quickly along with Lucy, who had Happy perched on her shoulder. They both nodded fervently.

"I knew there was something fishy about that guy," Happy piped up, before spreading his tiny angelic wings and hovering just above Lucy's shoulder.

"How are you feeling Gray?" asked Erza, looking intently at him.

"I'm fine. We should be worried about that pink lizard. If that Draxnor guy beat _you_, he's surely going to make short work of him," Gray stated. "Why are they fighting anyway?"

"That doesn't matter! Let's go!" Erza ordered, rushing out of the tent, ignoring the inquisitive looks from some of the villagers, including Chief Moka.

Together they ran into the forest, with Erza in the lead. However, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. She was thinking about the magical signatures. Both of them were extremely powerful. In fact, Draxnor was releasing a larger amount of energy than what he released the final moments of their battle. But what totally shocked her was that Natsu was releasing just as much magical energy as Draxnor. They were both roughly equal in power, when _she_ had fallen short in her fight against Draxnor.

She couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that Natsu Dragneel, whom she beat countless times before, was now releasing more magical energy than her. _When _did he amass that much power? _When_ did she fall behind? Did he hold back all the times he challenged her and was beat?

"Look up there!" Lucy shouted in apparent shock, snapping her completely out of her train of thought. Erza did so, and inhaled sharply shortly after. A massive pillar of smoke billowed into the sky, large shockwaves scattering it every now and then, with blurs flying around at nigh impossible speeds, easily rivaling her **Flight Armor**.

"Those are… Natsu and Draxnor!" Erza shouted. "We don't have much time! Let's go!"

They sped through the forest, with Erza wanting to requip into her **Flight Armor**, but quickly deciding against it because she didn't want to leave the others behind. Those blurs were unmistakable. To the untrained eye, they were just that… blurs. But to trained eyes like hers, the blurs were clear as day. It was them… and they were going at it with unprecedented fierceness.

She gasped loudly and her eyes grew wide when a massive explosion appeared in the sky, the gale force winds produced nearly blowing her away. Her eyes widened even further when two small figures fell out from the blast, each leaving small trails of smoke behind as they fell.

"No way…" she breathed, shaking her head before rushing forward at an even higher speed. "NATSU!"

…

Natsu stared Draxnor down after they both landed, panting due to their last pseudo-aerial bout. It was almost obvious that the both of them were reaching their limit. However, they refused to yield a single inch of their gained ground and stood as steadily as they could. Both of them were beaten up and bloody, Natsu having taken some harsh hits from Draxnor's **Black Armament**, and Draxnor receiving a nigh equal dose of Natsu's **Fire Dragon's Blazing Iron Fist**. Both knew that this round was going to decide the match, and neither wanted to lose.

An immense cloud of smoke billowed right above them, remnants of a massive explosion that ensued a few moments ago. The small forest area, their second battle arena, was in complete ruins, like the first. Flames of overwhelming intensity and heat danced around them, with a few areas left miraculously undamaged.

The staring contest dragged on for a few more seconds as both fighters attempted to devise their winning strategy.

"Well, Natsu Dragneel. I never expected_ you_ to push me _this_ far. Not even _Erza Scarlet_ was able to do it…" Draxnor spoke up, heaving while wiping blood off his bruised lip.

'_Erza? He fought Erza?' _thought Natsu, shocked.

"You… fought Erza?" he asked, slightly hesitantly.

"I did… and I _beat_ her…" Draxnor declared, smiling widely… almost maniacally.

'_HE WHAT?!'_ Natsu roared in his head.

"You… beat… Erza…" he growled softly, his ruffled pink hair shadowing his eyes. It took a few moments for the statement to sink in. Once it did, though, Natsu felt the gravity of the statement full-force. While it did shock him beyond belief that Erza was beaten by someone else other than him, there was one thing that struck Natsu like a speeding train… Erza was hurt… and he wasn't there to protect her. "You… hurt Erza… YOU HURT ERZA! RAAAAAAGH! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"

Natsu roared into the sky, a vortex of flames surrounding him. However, these flames were vastly different from the ones he showed when he initially entered his **Blazing Drive**. They were driven by something else… something _far_ more menacing.

'_Could it be… the __**Flames of Emotion**__?'_ thought Draxnor, visibly shocked. But his shock only increased when Natsu lunged at him… faster than ever before.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Smash!"**

Natsu's right hand was coated with flames as he swiped at Draxnor, a large wall of flames crashing into him and sending him back. He grunted in pain as he flew through the air and he attempted to launch a counterattack, but Natsu beat him to it.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Iron Fist!"**

Natsu's flame-coated right fist smashed into Draxnor's face and sent him crashing into the ground, where he skidded before stopping near a tree, the picked up dust covering him. However, he didn't stop there. Natsu extended his right hand as he landed, with his index and middle fingers pointing upwards.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Pillar!"**

An enormous pillar of flames shot from the ground right under Draxnor straight into the sky, engulfing him completely. Through the sizzling inferno, Draxnor's pained cry could be heard as he was sent higher and higher into the air before the spell dissipated, dropping him. Natsu jumped into the air, already preparing yet another attack.

"_With a blaze on the right hand… and a blaze on the left hand… When you combine the blazes together…" _Natsu chanted, a fiery orb appearing on his right hand, and then on his left. He then fused them together into a massive fireball that he lifted above his head.

"**Fire Dragon's Brilliant Blaze!"**

Natsu launched the massive fireball straight at Draxnor, the force throwing him back to the ground. He watched intently as the fireball almost hit Draxnor, waiting for the massive explosion to ensue… but it never came.

"**Force Drill!"**

A large, drill-shaped spike of red transparent magic pierced right through his attack, completely dissipating it. Natsu's eyes widened slightly as he saw Draxnor in the middle of it, spinning rapidly. The red spike dissipated after Draxnor stopped spinning, and he had his right hand held back. A fiery black orb appeared, swelling slowly.

Something of that magic irked Natsu. It felt different from the **Force Magic** and **Black Armament** Draxnor usually used. This felt… sickening… even more so than the **Darkness Destruction Wave **he used earlier.

"**Hellfire Orb!"**

Draxnor launched the black orb straight down at Natsu. It whizzed towards him at astounding speeds, but Natsu's reflexes were a tinge faster. He jumped out of the way, using his **Fire Dragon's Blazing Claw** as a booster as the orb hit the ground. A black explosion ensued, not as large as the combined **1000 Flames of Hell **and **Fire Dragon's Roar **they threw at each other in the temple, but still large in its own right. But that wasn't what worried Natsu. What worried him was the fact that right after the explosion dissipated, the flames around him slowly began to die out as the trees lost all semblance of life and they turned a sickly gray before crumbling down to the ground. The lush greenery on the ground also became that gray and collapsed. His eyes widened as he took in the scene before him. Everything was dead or dying, leaving no trace of a living thing in the area affected by the explosion.

He had seen this kind of magic before… but where? Where had he seen this magic? Why couldn't he remember? He always remembered the kind of magic his most powerful opponents used, and this one seemed to be only manageable by extremely powerful wizards like Draxnor. So why couldn't he remember?

"What kind of magic was that?" he asked softly.

"This, Natsu…" he began, conjuring up another sickening black orb of fire, "…is my primary magic… my main form of attack… **Hellfire Magic**."

"**Hellfire Magic**?" asked Natsu, slightly taken aback.

"Yes... **Hellfire Magic**. It's similar to **Fire Magic** in terms of overall properties, like appearance, effects… among others. But **Fire Magic **can be used for many other things. **Hellfire Magic **can only be used for mass destruction. No matter how hard you try to do something else with it… **Hellfire Magic** will always destroy. They're the ever-consuming flames of Hell itself… consuming everything in its path…"

"Is **Hellfire Magic** superior to **Fire Dragon Slayer Magic**?" interrupted Natsu, looking at Draxnor straight in the eyes.

"Naturally… yes," replied Draxnor, smiling.

"I'll show you otherwise," Natsu smirked cockily, taking a large breath afterwards.

"Bring it…" Draxnor challenged, placing his open palms in front of him.

"**Fire Dragon's Blazing Roar!"**

"**Hellfire Stream!"**

A torrent of red-orange flames met a torrent of black flames in between the fighters after they launched their attacks. Almost instantly, Draxnor's flames began to gain ground on Natsu's, proving his statement. The force was so great that Natsu was being pushed back, albeit slowly.

'_Damn… He was right… His flames are _really_ strong!'_ thought Natsu. '_But I can still do this! I'll show him that my flames are stronger!'_

Natsu applied more force to his already powered up **Dragon's Roar**, the sheer amount of it beginning to produce results as his flames began to slowly overpower Draxnor's.

'_So, still got fight left in you… Could it be…?'_ thought Draxnor as he scrunched his face in concentration, making sure to keep Natsu's flames from completely overpowering his. Slight surprise flowed through his mind and senses, witnessing normal fire overpowering his Hellfire. Then, he remembered… this wasn't a normal fire mage he was fighting… he was fighting a **Fire Dragon Slayer**… a mage possessing magic that can rival that of a dragon's…

Determined to break the beam lock, Draxnor lifted his hands. However, he did it too late, for the flames had compiled once again into a black and red-orange fireball larger than the one they created inside the temple.

'_Shit! If this keeps going, were going to blow up half the island!' _thought Draxnor. He stopped shooting flames, prompting the fireball to speed straight at him.

'_What the hell is he doing? Is he giving up?' _thought Natsu. _'That thing will kill him!'_

"**Force Shield!"**

Draxnor cast a transparent red sphere of magic that surrounded the massive fireball, effectively cutting off Natsu's attack.

The moment the fireball was completely surrounded by the shield, it exploded with unprecedented force, expanding Draxnor's protective shield to its limit, almost breaking through. Unleashing a loud war cry, he fiercely concentrated on keeping the explosion at bay. However, it was proving to be a monumental effort, for the strain of the act was becoming apparent in Draxnor's facial expression and body as his muscles convulsed greatly.

When the explosion finally dissipated, Draxnor fell to one knee, breathing heavily, his eyes losing focus for a sliver of a moment. The transparent red sphere dissipated into nothingness, allowing the heat and the smoke produced by the explosion to waft into the air.

'_Damn! I used up too much of my magical energy! I can't let it be drained, or _it_ will be exposed!'_ thought Draxnor angrily.

Natsu stared at Draxnor, his eyes wide in surprise. Why did he do that? The **Force Shield** he used to keep the explosion at bay used a massive amount of magical energy, leaving him drained. While he did know that the explosion was powerful enough to destroy a good portion of the island, it was obvious that he could have just deflected it up into the sky. What was he playing at?

"Why did you do that?" asked Natsu. "You practically gave up the fight."

"I know… but why worry _our_ teammates?" asked Draxnor, giving Natsu a small, wily smile. "You and I both know that explosion could've seriously wounded us, if not killed us. So why worry them?"

'_What the hell does he mean by "our" teammates?!' _thought Natsu, surprised. _'He's an enemy! He can't be…!'_

"**Black Force Armament: Oblivion Fist!"**

Natsu's train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the unstable spike of magical energy and the image of Draxnor flying towards him, his right arm solid black with that boiling red transparent aura. He was about to evade it… but this time, he just wasn't fast enough.

Natsu's eyes widened as far as they could go and a soundless cry of pain ensued when Draxnor grabbed his shoulder and plunged his **Oblivion Fist **right into his stomach. Instantly, Natsu felt the immeasurable heat Draxnor's fist produced. It was slightly _hotter_ than his flames. He couldn't believe it. Now he felt the true power of that attack. It was completely devastating… it truly deserved the name it bore… the **Oblivion Fist**…

"This attack, Natsu Dragneel, is what I used to defeat Erza Scarlet," Draxnor whispered as Natsu's **Blazing Drive **dissipated. "And with this attack, I have now defeated you."

Natsu fell to his knees, nearly losing consciousness as Draxnor released his shoulder and began to walk away. He felt some of his broken bones screaming in pain inside him, mainly his ribs. So this was how Erza felt right after he beat her. He truly felt like he was dying. He mentally cursed himself for not being there for Erza.

So this was it… he was going to die before confessing his feelings to Erza and Mirajane? No… he wouldn't have that… Not right now. He still had so many things to do as well. He still had to find Igneel! He still had to beat Gildarts and show him how powerful he had become! He would not let a silly punch beat him! He was Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Salamander, for God's sake! He would not rest until he made Draxnor pay _dearly_ for hurting Erza!

'_Natsu,'_ Erza and Mirajane's voice rang in his head. There they stood in the darkness of his mindscape, extending their hands towards him, a sweet smile gracing both of their beautiful faces. _'Don't give up… Never give up!'_

Natsu's eyes instantly cleared, the darkness of unconsciousness dissipating completely. He shakily began to stand up, his eyes shadowed by his pink hair.

"So… this attack… was what… you used to beat Erza," Natsu said softly, coughing. Draxnor turned to look at him, thoroughly shocked. Natsu then looked at him, a new fire burning in his eyes. "Well, it isn't enough to beat me!"

Summoning energy from out of nowhere, Natsu lunged at Draxnor, roaring in fury as flames began to sprout once again from his arms, shoulders and back.

"**Blazing Drive: Fire Dragon's Blazing Iron Fist!"**

A flame-coated fist smashed into Draxnor's shocked visage, sending him flying backwards. Natsu was still flying towards him, even though his last attack stumped some of his momentum.

"**Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!"**

Natsu ignited both of his fists with large orbs of fire as he prepared one of his strongest attacks. Draxnor, on the other hand, was in the middle of preparing a counterattack. He just needed a little more time to fully prepare another **Oblivion Fist**…

"**Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Blazing Fist!"**

Too late… Natsu had already unleashed a fierce barrage of flame-enhanced punches, striking almost every inch of Draxnor's upper body, exploding upon contact. A strangled cry of pain escaped Draxnor's mouth, along with blood, as he was sent rocketing towards the forest after Natsu's last explosive punch, the strongest of the barrage.

"I'm not letting you go yet!" roared Natsu as he disappeared and reappeared right behind Draxnor, his hands still on fire.

"**Crimson Lotus: Exploding Blaze Blade!"**

Natsu swiped his arms circularly, creating an enormous torrent of blazing hot flames that struck Draxnor with more force than any other attack Natsu had thrown at him before. Through the agonizing seconds of the attack, the flames wouldn't stop crashing into him, burning almost every part of his body. He sailed high into the air, spinning as the flames expanded rapidly in a massive explosion before they dissipated. Now it was Draxnor's turn to nearly lose consciousness as he still ascended to the sky.

'_I'm impressed, Natsu Dragneel. Not only did you defeat me in this state, but you did it when _Erza Scarlet_ couldn't… even when I released more power against you. It seems I was right in my deduction… you _are_ subconsciously using _that_ energy… that's why nobody can feel it, except _them_… It seems everything is going as planned…'_ thought Draxnor with a smile as he descended into the forest canopy and suffered a mighty crash that left a large crater in its midst. Sighing deeply, he whispered to himself, "Now… all I have to do is find a way to unleash it… Natsu's _true_ form… his _true_ power…"

…

Natsu fell to one knee, breathing heavily. Draxnor was down, and it seemed that this one was definitive. He hoped it was… this battle really drove into his limits. He shakily stood up as his **Blazing Drive **dissipated.

He stared in the direction Draxnor flew. Even after a few minutes, there was still no sign of him, and it only meant one thing… _Natsu had won_.

He had defeated Draxnor Hellion, when Erza couldn't. He had finally surpassed her and Mira when she was at her peak a few years ago. He was now stronger than Fairy Tail's strongest women… than two of Fairy Tail's strongest mages…

'_Erza… I won… for you. Now, after many years of training, I have gathered enough power to protect you… and Mira. I promise to never let anyone hurt either of you ever again…' _Natsu thought, smiling through his heavy breaths.

"Well… I think that settles it. But now… I have to go back to the village… Now that the temple is mostly destroyed, there will be no need to come back, so… mission accomplished," he muttered. He was about to make his way through the forest, when…

"NATSU!"

Natsu stopped dead in his tracks and turned around when the familiar voice of a certain red-haired beauty rang throughout the forest.

"Erza?" said Natsu softly, not expecting _her_ to come here. Sure enough, Erza showed up, breathing heavily, with Lucy, Gray and Happy right behind her, also breathing heavily.

Upon seeing his battered state, Erza's eyes widened considerably as Lucy covered her mouth with her right hand, Happy became teary, and Gray stared with discreet concern.

"NATSU!" she shouted as she sprung forward and grabbed Natsu's shoulders as he was about to fall. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Erza…" he replied weakly, smiling softly. "But… what are you doing here?"

"I came here to pick you up and take you back to the guild, but I decided to finish the quest with you guys," she replied as she hugged Natsu, slowly lowering him to the ground. "Where's Draxnor?"

"Draxnor? I beat him, just now…" he answered, thoroughly shocking Erza. Did she hear that correctly? Natsu… beat Draxnor? She had to make sure she heard him properly.

"You… beat Draxnor?" she asked slowly, making sure to get every single word through.

"Yeah… that's what I just said… I beat Draxnor," Natsu replied, still managing to smile after almost collapsing. Saying that Erza was shocked was a severe understatement. She was astounded, amazed… speechless. She couldn't believe that Natsu actually beat someone _she_ couldn't beat… but then again, this _was_ Natsu, and he tends to totally surpass her expectations. She couldn't help but smile softly and tighten her embrace slightly.

"You idiot… Why did you fight him?" she asked. "Look at yourself… you're all beat up. Do you want a repeat of Lullaby or something?"

"Of course not, Erza. I don't want to worry you, Mira or the guild like that anymore," he replied, smiling. Erza felt a small pang of jealousy at hearing Mira's name. "He hurt you Erza. That is all I needed to beat him up."

"That's because I _challenged_ him to a fight, Natsu. He's a member of Fairy Tail as well…" she said, slightly surprised that Natsu didn't know that.

"HE'S IN FAIRY TAIL?!" roared Natsu, thoroughly shocked.

"Didn't you see the guild mark on his right forearm?" she asked, still slightly incredulous.

"Well… no. He kept using that **Black Armament **thingy, so his arms were all black most of the time. Besides, I was fighting him and he's super strong… I didn't have time to focus on his right forearm," Natsu replied, scratching his cheek while looking away. He then stood up painstakingly slowly, gripping his abdomen, which was developing a rather nasty bruise. "Well, I guess I'll go get things clear between us. I saw him at the temple threatening some short dude that smelled like a woman, so I thought he was an enemy as well… Oh well…"

'_Typical Natsu,'_ thought Erza, shaking her head while smiling. _'Rushing into fights without thinking is just a part of you.'_

"There will be no need for that, Natsu…" said a very rough-sounding voice. Everyone turned to see Draxnor walking gingerly towards them, just as bloodied and beaten as Natsu, perhaps slightly worse, clutching a rather nasty-looking burn on his chest. Their eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

"Draxnor!" Erza nearly shouted, and was about to rush to him when he held up a hand, stopping her in her tracks.

"There's no need to worry about me. You need to focus on Natsu," Draxnor stated, leaning on one of the miraculously untouched trees in the middle of the once burning, then crumbling battlefield. "Remember my advanced healing factor. These wounds should be gone in about three to four hours, maybe a little more."

"Oh, yeah. I had forgotten about that," said Erza softly. "But what about Natsu? He doesn't have your healing factor…"

"And that's why I brought _this_…" interrupted Draxnor, pulling out a small conical flask out of thin air with a glossy black liquid inside it.

"A **Spiritual Mastermind Potion**…" said Erza softly. "Of course… that should work! After all, it heals all of your wounds and brings you back to full power! How could I have forgotten about that?"

"That thing heals you completely _and _restores your magical power?" Lucy asked, astounded. She had never heard of such a thing being possible with just one small vial of liquid.

"Yes…" Draxnor replied. "It's one of my specialties…"

"That's awesome…" breathed Lucy.

"Here," Draxnor called out to Erza, tossing the little flask at her. She caught it without looking. "Have Natsu drink it and somehow make him rest for at least three to four hours."

"Right," said Erza seriously. She then continued… rather playfully, "Open wide, Natsu!"

"Wh-What?" stuttered Natsu as he eyed the liquid. Lucy, Happy and Gray stared with slight surprise at Erza's sudden change in attitude.

"Just drink the potion, Natsu," said Erza, losing all of her playfulness. Natsu blanched slightly.

"Aye, sir!" he shouted, before hastily grabbing the potion and gobbling it up. Right after, he finished, he was coughing all over the place.

"Damn… T-That thing… is… nasty!" he managed to choke out through his coughs. "What the hell do you put in this thing, man? It tastes horrible! It tastes worse than that dude Bora's flames!"

"It's composed of many rare magical substances and herbs. To a certain extent, it's not meant to taste good," Draxnor replied. He then muttered, "However… it _does_ have a rather… _special_ aftertaste."

"What you say, Draxnor?" asked Erza, looking over at him.

"Nothing at all," he replied offhandedly as he pushed himself off the tree and began walking in the direction of the village. "We should get back to the village… Natsu needs to rest."

"Right," Erza replied as she stood up with Natsu's left arm draped over her neck and her right hand gripping his waist tightly. Happy landed on his head shortly afterwards. They followed Draxnor with Lucy and Gray tailing them.

"Wow… I'm already feeling my magic energy returning and my bones are starting to repair themselves! It hurts, though," Natsu commented happily, before pouting slightly.

"It'll be like that for a few minutes. Afterwards, you'll be like new," Draxnor replied, not turning around.

"Man, it might taste horrible… but that potion of yours is awesome!" complimented Natsu, smirking at him. Erza smiled softly at him before chuckling.

"Thanks…" said Draxnor, giving him a small smile.

"So, Draxnor, what were you doing in the temple?" piped up Erza.

"Hmm? Oh, apart from searching for Natsu, I was gathering some information on the ritual and its approximate completion time," answered Draxnor.

"Well?" she prompted.

"I managed to gather from this old green-haired man that the ritual is expected to be completed tonight," he continued, surprising everyone.

"TONIGHT?!" shouted Lucy and Gray.

"Yes… well, that's what he told me."

"Damn… what are we going to do?" asked Lucy, looking slightly fearful while Gray clenched his teeth in slight anger.

"Wait… didn't we destroy most of the temple in our fight and practically prevented the ritual from being completed?" asked Natsu, earning sighs of relief from Lucy and Happy.

"We did… but I have a suspicion that the building _will_ be repaired by tonight, or is being repaired as we speak…" Draxnor answered, nodding.

"WHAT?! But how?" asked Erza, clearly shocked. "That's impossible!"

"Not for someone using **Lost Magic**," countered Draxnor.

"**Lost Magic**?" asked Natsu.

"Yes… like your **Dragon Slayer Magic**."

"Well, what are we waiting for? If the temple _is_ being repaired right now, we have to prevent that!" said Gray heatedly.

"That will not be possible…" Draxnor replied calmly. "Natsu needs to rest…"

"Well, if you didn't fight flame-brain in the first place, he wouldn't need to rest!" Gray retorted angrily.

"That's enough, Gray!" Erza interrupted, glaring at him. "Draxnor's right. We all have to rest and prepare. Do you want to rush into this recklessly? There could be traps, you know…"

"Tch," was all Gray said before looking away. Draxnor had a small, wicked smile on his face… but it went unnoticed.

"Are we seriously going to wait until night? It's barely noon," Happy remarked. At Erza's nod, he deflated, "Man, this is going to be boring."

"It's okay, buddy," Natsu reassured. "Tonight, we'll get to kick some serious ass!"

"Aye, sir!" squeaked Happy, instantly perking up and saluting him.

"So it's settled, then?" asked Erza to everyone, looking at the group individually. At the nods, she continued, "Very well… We rest until night… and then… we attack the temple…"

…

"It's time…" Erza announced to the group as they finished their makeshift dinner in the tent. "We should make our way to the temple now since the moon is already rising."

"Right!" the group replied, standing up and preparing themselves.

"So, what do we do?" asked Natsu, walking towards Erza with a warm smile on his face. His wounds were completely gone now, thanks to Draxnor's **Spiritual Mastermind Potion**. Not even a single bandage or scar was visible on his well-toned body, and his clothes were completely repaired. His magical energy was also back to its maximum, but it came at a small price… the "Energy High" Draxnor mentioned to Erza crashed in like a raging bull. Natsu just couldn't sit still, jumping all over the place even though some of his wounds were still not done healing. While it did provide for some amusing entertainment based on the fact that Erza was chasing after him, screaming for him to lie down and rest, after about five minutes, everyone except Draxnor and Happy was chasing after him, and that proved to be slightly annoying.

"Um… well…" Erza stuttered, looking away and blushing slightly. Natsu, slightly confused, placed his hands on her face and gently coaxed her to look at him. She squeaked softly and blushed brighter when he leaned in and touched her forehead with his. The one thing she was thankful for was the fact that everyone had finished their preparations and left the tent before this, so no one was there to witness her blush.

"Natsu… w-what are you doing?" she asked shakily, squirming slightly. Natsu moved away from her, his face scrunched in thoughtfulness.

"Hmmm… no, you're not sick… Erza, what's wrong? Why are you so red?" he asked confusedly.

"N-Nothing… You shouldn't worry about it," she replied, turning away from him, attempting to recover her usual stoic expression. She failed slightly, for she still felt the blush burning in her face.

"Um, okay, I guess," Natsu shrugged as he tightened his scarf slightly before walking out of the tent, closely followed by a still red Erza. Everyone was looking intently at them, as if waiting for something to happen.

"So… what's the plan?" asked Natsu to no one in particular.

"Damn it, flame-brain, you would know the plan if you weren't sleeping the moment we discussed it!" said Gray loudly.

Natsu was about to say something, but Draxnor beat him to it, "We're sticking together. Those wizards you fought may not be the only ones there in the temple, and like Erza said earlier, there could be some traps. After we're inside the temple, we split up into teams. The first will take care of any wizards and traps that may be stationed in the temple, while the second will focus on stopping the ritual."

"Okay, sounds like a good plan. Who's on which team?" Natsu inquired further.

"You, Gray and I are on the first team, while Lucy, Erza and Happy are on the second," Draxnor replied, pointing towards each group member respectively. Looking at him, Natsu noticed that Draxnor's wounds were mostly healed and that he had somehow changed clothes. He was now wearing a deep red long-sleeve shirt left open at the top, a new set of black slacks, and black shoes with deep red designs detailing the front of the shoes.

"Why am I with the stripper?! I don't want to be with him!" Natsu nearly shouted.

"Shut up, lizard boy. As much as I hate working with you, it was Erza's orders," Gray muttered.

"Aw, come on, Erza! Can't I trade places with Lucy or something?" Natsu whined.

"WHY ME?!" Lucy screamed.

"That's enough, Natsu! I gave the assignments, now deal with them!" Erza growled, glaring at him. "Do I make myself clear?!"

"Yes, ma'am!" he squeaked, cowering under her glare.

"Good," replied Erza, closing her eyes and nodding. "Now that that's over with, we should make our way to the temple. Hopefully we can prevent the ritual from starting…"

"I think it's a little late for that," announced Draxnor, pointing up at the sky.

"What?" inquired Erza, looking up. Her eyes widened slightly. A bright, purple beam of light cascaded from the sky, seemingly from the moon, down towards the direction where the temple was located.

"Damn! We're too late! We have to hurry!" she ordered.

"Right!" the group answered in unison.

As they hurried through the forest towards the temple, with the bright purple beam still going strong, they mentally prepared themselves for any possible scenarios they might face. The worst of these was that Deliora would be released from its icy confines and begin to wreak havoc on the island after 10 years of imprisonment. Everyone sincerely hoped it wouldn't go that far, for Draxnor had warned them that Deliora was a far more powerful demon than Lullaby. That little bit of information did not sit well with the team because they had a rather sour encounter against Lullaby, with Natsu almost losing his life in the process. Even though the demon was successfully eliminated, the price was almost too high. Therefore, stopping the ritual was a crucial priority, for a repeat incident would be devastating.

"Damn! At this rate, we'll be too late!" growled Erza, breaking the momentary silence, signaling for everyone to stop. "Draxnor! Fly over to the top of the temple and take Natsu and Gray with you!"

"Wait… fly?!" shouted Natsu before he clutched his stomach, covered his mouth and fell to his knees. "I… don't… think… I can… do… that…"

"Natsu…" Erza spoke softly, giving Natsu a menacing glare that chilled him. "You will fly. Think of him as a friend, not a mode of transportation…"

"Aye, sir!" Natsu squeaked in a very Happy sort of way, with a salute and everything.

Draxnor nodded as he raised his right hand. Everyone turned towards him. Suddenly, a vortex of flames surrounded Draxnor, surprising Natsu and Gray slightly.

"**Six Winged King: Wings of the Fallen Angel!"**

A sudden, large spike of magical energy emanated from the swirling inferno. As the flames vanished, Draxnor's signature pitch-black devil wings with two blood-red spikes facing downwards and one spike facing away became visible to the group, extending away from him in a majestic manner… as well as his bare torso. Gray stared at the wings with slight awe. Natsu, however, noticed another thing.

"So you also have the same freaky stripping habits as this ice pervert over here?" asked Natsu, pointing at Gray, a blank expression on his face. Gray glared at him.

"What you say, pink lizard?" he growled, punching his right fist into his left palm.

"I don't have any freaky stripping habits. I only do so because my shirt would be torn apart by my wings," Draxnor explained, chuckling slightly at Natsu's insult. "Now, let's get back to business. We have a ritual to stop. Are you both ready?"

"I'm good. I don't know about Mr. I-Hate-All-Transportation over here," Gray replied.

"Oh, I'm good," said Natsu, smirking confidently. He then bumped his fists together. "Let's do this… I'm all fired up!"

"Alright then…" Draxnor muttered as he crouched, extending his wings upward. He then lunged into the sky at immense speeds, picking up a good amount of dust.

"HE'S LEAVING US BEHIND?!" shouted Natsu, face faulting.

"No, he isn't, Natsu… Look," said Erza as she pointed at the nigh invisible form of Draxnor as he performed an aerial loop before descending towards them.

"Grab my arms!" shouted Draxnor as he extended both his arms below him.

Nodding, Gray and Natsu latched onto Draxnor's left and right arm respectively as he swooped in at a rather low height, causing a slightly harsh wind and picking up dust.

Erza looked at the trio for a little while, a rarely seen worried expression on her face.

'_Natsu, be safe… please,'_ she thought. Almost immediately afterward, she returned to her usual stoic expression.

"Alright… Lucy, Happy, let's go," she ordered, as she began to run towards the temple.

"Right," said Happy and Lucy in unison as they followed suit, with Happy flying right above Lucy's head.

For some odd reason, the rest of the trip to the temple did not feel as safe as when Natsu, Draxnor and Gray were there. Even though Erza was a monster fighter and she could certainly protect Lucy and Happy if need be, it just didn't feel right. Erza wanted to blame it on Natsu's reckless nature and his tendency of doing incredibly stupid things that would have grave consequences for the rest of the team… but she couldn't do so. Even if he _was_ a reckless piece of work, his incredibly stupid doings sometimes ended up _helping _the team instead of _hurting_ them. So… blaming him was out of the question.

The next thing was Draxnor's _very_ unsettling statement. If it was true that Deliora was far stronger than Lullaby, and if the people at the temple manage to release it, the mission would go from a rather _simple_ lift the curse to a frantic life-or-death battle. She sincerely hoped it would not escalate to such levels, because at that point Deliora would not be the _only _thing she would have to worry about. She would now have to worry about Natsu's uninhibited recklessness and selflessness… not to mention the rest of the team. She was the S-Class Wizard here… she bore the responsibility of making sure everyone went back home in one piece from this quest. If anything were to go wrong, it would be entirely _her_ fault and she honestly had no idea how she would _deal_ with such a burden.

"Erza… are you alright?" asked Lucy, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, Erza. Is something wrong?" Happy piped up.

"What?" she asked back, slightly taken aback at the abrupt interruption. However, she still continued running, not knowing how close she was to the temple due to being completely lost in her thoughts.

"Are you alright?" repeated Lucy. "You seem… worried."

"Oh… I'm quite alright, Lucy. There's nothing for you to worry about," replied Erza, feigning a small smile.

"Oh… okay!" Lucy replied, smiling widely. "We're almost there, by the way."

"Perfect…" muttered Erza. "At this time, Natsu and the others must've taken out most of the other wizards in the temple, if not all of them and delay the ritual."

"Right," Lucy agreed.

They continued running towards the temple until it became visible through the tree canopy. What they saw, however, was not to their liking.

"What?! The ritual is still going on? What's happening? With their strength, clearing the temple should be no problem!" Erza stated, looking at the bright purple beam of light that _still_ rained from the sky.

"Stop right there!" said an unfamiliar, male voice.

"What?" said Lucy as the group stopped dead in their tracks. In almost a flash, the girls and cat were surrounded by a very large group of what seemed to be wizards dressed in identical purple cloaks and a light purple hood that covered all of their faces with a dark purple symbol that resembled a backwards "C" with a dot in the center. They also wielded what seemed to be crescent-shaped swords.

"Where'd all these people come from?" asked Happy.

"I'd like to know that myself," replied Erza, requipping a simple one-handed sword.

"We will not let you interfere with the Cold Emperor's plans!" shouted another voice, this time an elderly female voice. Suddenly, Happy squealed in happiness and pointed up.

"Look, Erza! The **Moon Drip **has stopped!" he announced, shocking everyone and prompting them to look up. He was right… the bright purple beam of light had indeed disappeared from the night sky.

"Well… it seems we will not have to involve ourselves in a meaningless scuffle now that the ceremony is interrupted," Erza stated, smiling slightly. "Mission accomplished…"

"Damn… they had people on the inside?"

"It can't be… they managed to stop the ritual!"

"Now what'll we do?"

"We never knew they brought more people into the fray!"

"We can't have our revenge against Deliora now!"

"Revenge?" asked Lucy, confused. One of the apparent cultists turned to look at her and removed the hood, revealing an elderly woman wearing a pretty headset.

"That headset…" Erza muttered. "You're from Brago, aren't you?"

"Brago?" repeated Lucy, even more confused.

"You are correct, young lady," the elder woman replied.

"That means you were a victim of Deliora… Are all of you victims?" asked Erza. All of the hooded people turned and nodded.

"That's terrible…" Lucy whispered, shocked. "I can't believe…"

A piercing roar, louder than anything Erza had ever heard before rang throughout the night, interrupting the conversation. The ground shook before the might of the roar, and Lucy and Happy screamed and covered their ears.

"KYAAAAA! What's going on?!" screamed Lucy as she fell to her knees.

"AAAACK! I wasn't ready for that!" shouted Happy.

Everyone scattered around during the roar, except one person… Erza. She looked at the temple, wide-eyed, a fearful expression dominating her beautiful features.

They were too late… They were unable to stop the ritual in time… Her worst fears were confirmed.

She lost her breath as she _felt_ the darkness looming over them. The demon feared by everyone in this temple was finally released from its icy confines. Only one thing ran through her mind… three simple words that spelled impending doom for the people on the island.

Deliora had awakened…

…

* * *

_**Whew! Done!**_

_**And Natsu has emerged victorious! I hope y'all enjoyed the fight! Next chapter will the frantic battle between Team Natsu and Deliora! And what does Draxnor know about Natsu? Why is it that nobody can feel Natsu's magical energy, with the exception of Erza and Mira? Find out next time!**_

_**For now... review, review, review!**_

_**Until next time! Ciao!**_


End file.
